A husband-and-wife team operating out of Jindabyne in the NSW Snowy Mountains has turned handmade ski manufacturing into a viable small business, navigating significant supply chain challenges and regulatory constraints that have reshaped Australia's timber industry. Jonathan and Steph Paige began making skis in 2019 when they were living in Western Australia, opening Desert Skis to the public in winter 2025 after five years of trial and error and testing product samples.
The couple's skis feature a wooden core made from alpine ash, jarrah and paulownia, materials that have become increasingly difficult to source due to government environmental restrictions. As of March, the alpine ash forests of the Australian mainland have been declared as endangered by the federal government. Jarrah, a hardwood native to Western Australia, has become more challenging to access since the state government banned native forest logging in 2024.
Navigating Supply Constraints
The Paiges have adapted their sourcing strategy in response to these regulatory changes. They had previously accessed jarrah from a mill that was shutting down in Albany in WA and from a tree that had fallen during a storm on a family member's property. They said they were now working with a mill in WA to source timber from other jarrah trees that had already fallen or were being cut down for construction projects, and they were mindful about what they were using.
Jonathan Paige said, "We're using small dimensions and so we're able to extend the use of a single board through that," and, "The timber that we're using increases the life cycle of the ski itself, and so [it is] encouraging people to use the same ski for longer and not buy new pairs every year."
The Manufacturing Process
The alpine ash is harvested by the NSW Forestry Corporation in the Riverina region, west of Canberra, and processed at a timber mill in Eden on the NSW far south coast. Damien Bunting, the general manager of South Coast Timber, said the request for the specific hardwood boards was unusual. He said, "This is a little bit more meticulous, and you've got to really search for the right quality boards," and, "It is quite specific. They can't have any knots or any imperfections at all."
The alpine ash is cut when conditions are right and air dried, before spending weeks in a 40-degree Celsius pre-dryer and a kiln. The drying process can take about six months. Bunting said, "When you're dealing with a natural product, you can't rush it, or maybe you can, but you're risking destroying it," adding, "Take your time, you push it through nicely and the rewards are at the other end."
In the skis, the alpine ash is joined with the light balsa wood paulownia, and a thin piece of native jarrah holds the core together. Steph Paige said, "[Jarrah] is really good at taking an impact because the grains are so tightly packed and it is naturally water and rot resistant." She said the alpine ash gives weight to the ski and helps improve the feel of the ski, saying, "You need that weight to improve the feel [of the ski], so when you're skiing through something that may not be perfect power or perfect grooming, you want your ski not to be chattering away."
Overcoming Market Challenges
The wooden core is glued and dried, then laminated between a plastic base and a wood veneer top sheet, all held together by a steel edge. It then takes weeks to cut, grind, polish and oil the skis before they are tuned, waxed and have their bindings mounted. Jonathan Paige said, "Every step takes time and it all adds up, but everything takes the amount of time it needs. Nothing is fast here," and noted that the plastic base and ski edge are imported products, while the rest of the materials in the skis are Australian made.
He said living in a country more familiar with sun and surfing than snow-covered mountains makes ski-making more challenging because of high freight costs and a small local industry, adding, "Whilst we're deep in winter, it's summertime in the northern hemisphere. Most of your suppliers … we're just not on that same schedule."
Jonathan Paige said, "You could probably get a job at a big company in Europe or the US and have somebody show you the ropes," and added, "Being here, it was very much just learn as you go, refine, reiterate." He said, "The first couple of pairs we pressed were catastrophic. The first one was a total botched job," and described the process as one with many variables, including temperature, humidity of the timber, the day it is milled, the day it is glued up and the type of timber used.
Steph Paige said, "It was motivating because after five years, you are kind of like, 'This is a long journey. This is a lot of money. Is this going to be worth it?'" and, "There are times when you're kind of looking at each other like, 'What are we doing?'"
Local backcountry skier Rowan Kennedy, a friend of the Paiges, said, "It brings joy, seeing the creation of the ski, knowing where the timber comes from, knowing it's locally sourced," and, "You see the production from start to finish and you know that you're giving a job to a local person."
Steph Paige said, "It's really important to us that they are handmade, that we respect the timbers that we're using, that we can source locally," and, "If we scaled too quickly, too fast, we wouldn't be able to control the quality and there would be more waste." Jonathan Paige said, "It might be four, five, six, seven, eight of us on our skis that we've made," and, "It's cool when you sit there and just take it in for a minute. You go, 'Man, this is rad'." He added, "Everything we're having fun on is from here. How cool is that?"
Why This Matters:
The Paiges' venture illustrates how small manufacturers must adapt to increasingly restrictive environmental regulations that limit access to traditional raw materials. The state government's ban on native forest logging in Western Australia in the third year and the federal government's endangered species declaration for alpine ash forests this year have fundamentally altered supply chains for timber-dependent businesses. While environmental protection remains important, these restrictions force entrepreneurs to invest significant time and capital into alternative sourcing arrangements, raising production costs and creating uncertainty for long-term business planning. The couple's success in building a niche market demonstrates the resilience of private enterprise when individuals take personal responsibility for sustainable practices without requiring additional government mandates. Their emphasis on product longevity and minimal waste shows how market-driven solutions can align environmental stewardship with economic viability, though the regulatory environment continues to present obstacles to scaling operations and competing with larger international manufacturers that face fewer constraints.