Bartley’s All in Wood was built on the foundation and legacy of a father’s carpentry trade — a skill passed down but never formalised. Recognising its potential, his daughter stepped in to structure and grow the business. From a modest start with a friend to operating independently, Stanford Bartley laid the groundwork for what is now a second-generation family enterprise. Fifty years later, the business is nestled in the cool hills of Mandeville, Manchester, where it operates as a full-scale wood solutions factory.

“When I took over, we changed the name to Bartley’s All in Wood,” said Managing Director Lacey-Ann Bartley in an interview with the
Jamaica Observer. “A lot of the skills that I have, that I know about managing a woodworking business, I’ve learnt from my father, Stanford Bartley.”

She grew up around the workshop, but her understanding of her father’s talent deepened through an unexpected experience. While trying to craft a savings panel from a coconut, she struggled with the design and left the unfinished piece outside. The next morning, she found it fully repaired.

“I asked my aunt who did this, and she said most likely it’s my father,” Bartley recalled. “I said, ‘Daddy doesn’t know anything about crafts,’ and she told me he used to make crafts and sell them to the shops in Mandeville when he was learning the trade.”

Her father later confirmed that he fixed it himself. That moment, she said, brought the business full-circle, reconnecting them with their early roots in handmade wood products and souvenirs. At the time, she formally joined the business, and by 2011, it launched with a focus on furniture. That direction shifted when Joan McDonald, event planner for the World Council of Churches, asked her to supply souvenirs for an upcoming event. Bartley agreed and gathered her cousins to help make the products, which included napkin holders, jewellery boxes, and coasters.

“They were very clunky,” she admitted, “but I took them, and they sold.”

The remaining pieces were introduced to a local distributor, which purchased the leftovers, marking Bartley’s’ entry into the souvenir market. From there, demand grew, and Bartley’s All in Wood discovered the tourism industry, moved its products into Things Jamaican and later expanded into custom items for corporate clients.

“It just took on a life of its own from stage to stage,” she told the Business Observer.

Bartley received no formal training; everything was hands-on instruction from her father, Stanford. However, she did earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Operations Management, which helped to complement the trajectory of her father’s business.

“Because of the close relationship with my father, it has always been a dream of mine to take over and run his business. So I studied the various things that I needed to get where I wanted to go as a business manager,” she told the Business Observer.

The business officially became a limited liability company in 2019 when Bartley formalised the operation, despite her father having worked in the trade long before she understood it. She admitted, however, that the process of formalising the business took quite a long time — over 20 years — mainly due to finding the right motivation for her family to proceed with her as the lead. Trying to get parents to move the business forward presented challenges, including intergenerational communication gaps.

“You know how Jamaican men are when it comes to leadership and growth. Things take time, and for a female to try to take over a male-dominated family business is not an easy task. And moving somebody from an artisan-type business into a formal business is not a very linear process,” she shared. “It takes time to get your parents on board and get them to understand the vision and where you want to go with the business and how it benefits them. So that takes years. And it has taken me years to get my family on board to get the business to where it is now.”

Woodworking is particularly male-dominated, and while women are few in all aspects, they do encounter some challenges and resistance. For example, she would go to the lumber yard and be met with requests to send her father or brothers instead. The challenges rolled over to customers second-guessing her, and she’s had to learn to prove she’s capable of leading the business.

Despite the setbacks, Bartley was determined not to let the challenges deter her. Over time, she learnt to manage the biases and resistance she faced, choosing instead to let her work speak for itself. She no longer feels the need to constantly prove herself.

As the company grew, however, so did the complexity of the challenges. Bartley described the current business environment as “very disabling”, pointing to difficulties with sourcing materials, human resource management, and general operations. Running a business in Jamaica, she noted, is far from easy.

The company sources all its materials locally, aligning with a broader commitment to supporting Jamaican industries and reducing reliance on imports. With operations based in Mandeville, Bartley’s All in Wood is currently expanding its footprint with a shopfront now under development at the Artisan Village in Trelawny. The new shop, named Wattle and Daub, is expected to open by the winter tourist season.

Bartley’s’ client base now includes most of the major hotels in Jamaica. The company supplies hotel amenities, including gifts for guests, items for gift shops, foodware, and name tags. It also provides corporate gifts and branded awards for staff functions and events.

Positioning itself as a wood solutions company, Bartley’s All in Wood offers products across four core areas: foodware and premium items such as charcuterie boards and wooden utensils; corporate gifts and awards, including trophies and logo-branded pieces; souvenirs and gifts that highlight Jamaican branding; and carvings, trinkets, and memorabilia, as well as amenities for villas and resorts.

“We can do anything in wood,” Bartley said, “but for us to move our business forward, we’ve driven down on our niche, focusing more on the B2B side of the business and moving our retail business to our outlets and our website.”

Bartley’s All in Wood currently exports to Antigua, St Vincent, and Barbados, having entered the export market just before the COVID-19 pandemic. While domestic sales remain the primary revenue driver, the company aims to expand its export footprint. As part of its growth strategy, Bartley’s plans to hire additional staff, optimise production with new machinery, further integrate technology into its operations, and revamp its website to create what Bartley describes as “an Amazon for wood products”.