For over two decades, Mark Aniol has established himself as a successful craftsman, owning multiple businesses, and focused on delivering custom pieces as well as leading renovation projects that align with his customers’ visions.
Aniol, who grew up in the Homedale neighborhood in Brantford, described his youth and finding his passion early on.
“I had a big brother from the Big Brother Association since I was ten-years-old, because I didn’t know who my father was. My mom thought it’d be a good idea to have a big brother…who I still have him in my life to this day along with his wife whom I call them my mom and dad,” Aniol said. “My big brother [encouraged] my passion for woodworking, but it was my mom that got me into it. She liked doing crafts ever since I could remember and I just always loved working with wood,” he said.
He would then get his first start in the workforce and quickly become a business owner.
“I worked for a roofing company when I was 16, and a guy that was framing houses for about a week, and then from there I’ve worked for myself. I’ve started my own companies and been self-taught my whole life. My first company was a driveway sealing company. I did that for about three years [and] then in 1999 I started Action Construction, which is my contracting company to this day,” he noted.
Fast forward to recent times, Aniol and his wife Corrie, who herself has been a successful entrepreneur, made a decision that
“During our honeymoon, we found out that Corrie’s Nana, wasn’t doing well, and they were going to sell the house. After coming back, we made a decision to sell our house and buy Nana’s property. I’ve always wanted to start my own woodworking shop, and would do so after we bought that property. And that’s when I started Watermark Boards,” Aniol noted. “In 2019, I bought my first DNC [machine] and my woodworking business grew from there. I was making custom cutting boards….engraving custom logos [for people] in them and filling it with epoxy. I sent one off to a customer in California and he was a big barbecue guy. He showed his board to everybody [and] I ended up sending 30 cutting boards to the United States within three months. Those types of niche cutting boards were good for a while, but faded a bit. I’m still doing them, and I also continue doing charcuterie boards [which] are being sold at Strodes as well as other local places.”
Aniol would then decide to create a cornhole board which others took notice of.
“One day a friend came over to play, so I decided to make a board on my CNC [machine]. From there, people noticed my board, and before I knew it, I was designing and crafting cornhole boards and started getting better and better at making them,” he said. “And recently, with the help from Matt [Murrins] at Oktane Cornhole Gear, we have [collaborated on] designing our impact boards which is one of the best structurally sound boards available. There is a strong demand for them…as I ship them to the United States and all over Canada. They’re being used in all the Canadian Cornhole Leagues, and all the players are loving them because they are customized to what they want…and are made from excellent wood…making them top quality and made to last.”
Along with designing and creating these boards, Aniol has been in demand in making other custom items.
“I’ve always wanted to make a guitar, even though I can’t play one myself. So, one day I asked my friend, local singer, Steven Ryan, if I could make one for him. We then got together and made a guitar out of black walnut. maple and some hickory, while] he did all the instrumentation and put all the components in it. He then wanted to do a river guitar because I do a lot of river tables for dining room tables which is epoxy running through it, making it look like a river. We found some nice oak, and we cut it down the middle and turned it into a river guitar by pouring some blue epoxy in it,” he explained. “And then I had a customer who’s a real Jack Daniels lover, so he wanted a Jack Daniels guitar. So, Steven and I, cut up some oak, and we put grooves in it and made it look like a barrel. We then put gunpowder in it and lit the gunpowder on fire…burning the grooves into it. And we laser engraved the Jack Daniel’s logo on it and made him a real cool, rustic-looking guitar.”
One of Aniol’s favourite projects was on a much bigger scale, leveraging his extensive experience in woodworking and commercial renovations.
“It was the Kate Broddick real estate office on King George Road. I loved doing that [project] because it was such a big space and we had the creativity to do what we wanted [as] Kate loved my work. We did Herringbone flooring in there [and] made a custom desk at the front office…we made boardroom tables [and] a custom Island. We built all the cabinets in the eating area. And we also did every door to every office…and I laser engraved the logo on the glass door. We also made all the signs for the inside of her office, and we put it all together, and had a big grand opening. Everyone on Kate’s team was just in awe of the finished product,” he said.
However, there was another project that was very personal to Aniol.
“We had a friend who was dying of cancer. She had four kids, and she wanted to leave something special for them. So, we decided on a wooden memory box for each child, and she was going to put items in them so that they could remember her. I made it all in a black walnut and I laser engraved each child’s name on each box, and then I printed a photo of their mom on a piece of stainless steel inside each one. When she came to get them, it was a bit overwhelming. It was very special thing to do. [And I remember] I just couldn’t charge her for those boxes. That’s was a very special project for me,” he reflected.
Along with his businesses, the craftsman has also been finding success connected to a rapidly growing sport in Canada.
“I wish I could stop doing the renovations and just do woodworking and create stuff in the shop, but I can’t do that. You got to keep bringing the money in to pay the bills. [But] I’ve been very busy making cornhole boards. I have people coming in and asking me to do some really unique ones…like getting pictures of their dogs on it. The sport is continuing to grow and there is definitely a market out there for what I’m doing. I also run the Brant County Cornwall League [and] we get close to 40 people out every Wednesday night down at the Knights of Columbus [Club]. And I’m making cornhole boards for almost every league throughout Canada too,” he said.
And with over 25 years as an entrepreneur, Aniol has learned what people are capable of doing.
“I just want people to know that if you have a vision, try to follow it, because if you don’t, you won’t know what you’re capable of. People have so much more potential than they realize that they have…and you can start by your hands to create something and bring your vision to life, as I did,” he noted.
