Employee’s Handmade Plant Holders Grow a Following at Duke Farmers Market

Marek Kasprisin connects with colleagues through handcrafted wooden plant propagation stations

A man is seen holding a wooden propagation station through a hole in another wooden structure
Marek Kasprisin, a senior IT Analyst with Duke's Office of Information Technology, sells propagation stations at Duke Farmers Market through May at his booth Holey Timber. Photo by Travis Stanley

Christine Sulym was examining a row of square wooden blocks holding test tubes at the Duke Farmers Market recently, trying to decide which one she liked best. As she pondered, her Duke Cytogenetics colleague Alisha McFadden offered some words of advice – not to her, but to the vendor behind the table.

“You need to wear your badge!” McFadden said. “We want to support our own at Duke.”

Standing behind the table, Marek Kasprisin, a senior IT Analyst with Duke’s Office of Information Technology, merely smiled and explained he'd let someone borrow his badge holder.

Kasprisin, a woodworker in his spare time, owns Holey Timber, which has been a hit selling handcrafted “propagation stations” and potted plants at Duke Farmers Market. The market runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Thursday on the Duke Medicine Pavilion Greenway.

Kasprisin began making the wooden stations, which are small blocks of wood drilled with holes to resemble Swiss cheese, about five years ago as a hobby and soon began selling them at local markets. Each one holds a vial meant to nurture cuttings from plants to develop roots so they can be transplanted anew. Last year, he had such success at the 2024 Winterfest Marketplace at Duke University Hospital that he signed up for a booth at Duke Farmers Market through May.

An array of wooden blocks with holes cut in them like Swiss cheese hold glass vials
Marek Kasprisin's Holey Timber offers multiple designs of propagation stations made out of four different kinds of wood. Photo by Travis Stanley

“What started as just a hobby has definitely turned into something that keeps me busy most weekends,” Kasprisin said. “Getting the chance to sell my pieces at the Duke Farmers Market and the Duke Winterfest has been such a great experience — it's an awesome way to share my work and connect with other folks at Duke who love the same stuff.”

Kasprisin was thrilled to learn recently he was selected by the town of Rolesville as the “2025 Trail Art Winning Artist.” The honor means two pieces of his woodwork will be displayed each day along the town’s greenway northeast of Raleigh during June. Anyone who finds the treasures gets to keep them.

Kasprisin also sells plants that can be used for propagation, including eucalyptus, jade, Pineapple mint, English lavender, Aristotle basil and tea olive.

A man holds a wooden propagation station
Marek Kasprisin's Holey Timber is at Duke Farmers Market through May. Photo by Travis Stanley

The whole hobby has turned into a family affair, Kasprisin said, as he often discovers plants at faraway farms or nurseries for his teenage daughter to drive to as she accumulates hours on a learner permit.

“It’s my daughter’s new hobby,” Kasprisin said with a laugh.

At the Duke Farmers Market, Sulym, the Advanced Medical Lab Scientist, spent several minutes pondering variations of the 2 ½-inch by 2 ½-inch propagation stations – mahogany, cherry, walnut and ambrosia maple. She scooped up three and handed them to Kasprisin.

“All three?” he asked. She nodded.

“I love that it was made by a Duke employee,” Sulym said. “And I love natural wood. I love decorating with natural wood.”

Find Holey Timber at the Duke Farmers Market through May. Products are also available on www.holeytimber.com.

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