Central City Millworks started a holiday tradition in 2007 when we designed our first CNC Router Christmas Card that we mailed out to over 200 friends and customers.  In 2008 we were so busy with the World War II Museum project we did not have time to use our CNC Router for the 2 days it takes to custom carve the cards from solid wood sheets. This year we were determined to continue the tradition.

Our CNC router cutting the 2009 Christmas Cards

The cards are made on our CNC router, which operates similar to a printer but for wood.  First we came up with a drawing of what we wanted the card to look like and then our CAD design department exported it into our CNC router. We selected figured Birch veneer 1/8” plywood and prefinished it with catalyzed varnish (the same finish we sealed the World War II Museum woodwork with). The CNC router then takes the design and custom carves it into the wood veneer plywood.  We can cut 150 cards per 4×8 sheet of plywood, each sheet taking up to 5 hours to cut the intricate design into all 150 cards. This year we sent out over 300 cards as our satisfied customer list is growing rapidly.

Our 2009 Christmas Card depicts a door we made for a Greek Revival house we renovated on Chestnut Street this year.  The address in the arched transom above the wreath signifies Christmas 2009. NOLA Noel is our way of recognizing how much we love our special city and how great the holiday season is here in New Orleans.