Troy and Maria Mercer

Hometown: Slaughter, Louisiana (Troy), Baton Rouge (Maria)

Artistry: Handcrafted wood bowls and serving pieces, Middleson Handcrafted

Online: middlesonhandmade.com, @middlesonwoodwork

When it comes to working with sharp objects in his hands, Troy Mercer is an expert. The longtime barber has operated the guys-focused hair salon and dry goods retailer Mercer Supply Co. on the edge of downtown for nearly a decade, but in 2025, he and wife Maria launched a creative side hustle that is dependent on a very different kind of cut.

Their Middleson Handcrafted is quickly gaining a reputation for finely crafted wood bowls, born both in south Louisiana from storm-downed trees and seemingly at the prime meridian of artful form and function.

“It’s all sculpture and making shapes really, that’s how I see things creatively—I close my eyes and see in shapes,” Troy explains, when comparing hair cutting to wood-turning at the lathe, his hands pointing and swooping like a spirited conductor—or a Baptist preacher, he’s been that, too—and his country accent sliding like Matthew McConaughey hanging out of a 1970 Chevy Chevelle. “Wood has always been my thing. But now, it’s the last thing I think about at night, and the first thing I think about in the morning. I want to be out there making bowls all the time, even after a long day at the barber shop.”

Troy started woodworking in his 20s to make practical Christmas gifts for his children—desks and vanities. Now he cuts, turns and shapes the bowls, and Maria manages most of the finishing, digging out worms and imperfections, and smoothing each piece to a silky touch.

“It’s about being in amazement to me, and it’s a reminder,” Maria says. “These pieces are such a good example of natural beauty.”

For Middleson—the couple chose the name because they are both middle children—everything is local. Most of the oak comes from a friend at an old dairy farm in Kentwood. The finishing wax is sourced from scrapings salvaged at a Port Allen bee farm. The couple really doesn’t like anything going to waste.

“This wood is from trees over a hundred years old,” Troy says. “And if you take care of this bowl, it’ll last a few generations. That legacy is important to me. Those trees served us for a long time. They deserve to be respected.”

Through years at that lathe, Troy knows the more he works at something, the easier and more joyful that work becomes. The duo is refining their process this year and expanding to deeper bowls, smaller offerings and new lines, too. That variety keeps Troy guessing, he says, and fully engaged with a process that requires all of his senses locked in.

“Don’t rob yourself of the joy of creating by thinking you’re not good enough,” Troy offers. “If you love it, do it.”