Though Dwayne and James Martin share the same last name, they are not brothers by blood. The two owners of Martin’s General Construction, later Landmark Industries LLC, and now Countryside Sheds LLC, began their business in 1994 after working for Dwayne’s father’s construction company in their youth. Their company will be celebrating its 25th anniversary and recent move to a new location, at 10505 N. McAlister Road, Island City, at an open house on Sept. 12 during business hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with lunch served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Countryside Sheds builds custom sheds, garages and shelters that can be used for many purposes including chicken coops, studios or storage. 

“They get used for a lot,” James said. “Rather than pay rent, why not buy your own?” 

Countryside Sheds takes pride in being locally owned and operated, which James said helps the community by providing a service and creating quality jobs. The company’s service area reaches beyond the Grande Ronde Valley, including Hermiston, Baker City, Wallowa and Milton-Freewater. The business currently has around 12 employees, according to Dwayne. 

What started as a home business now encompasses a regional sales office, displays and on-site manufacturing. The co-owners hope the most recent move for the company, to the new Island City location, will give their business more exposure. 

The desire to build custom sheds comes from a lifetime of experience. While they take classes on new products and techniques to maintain their licenses, both Dwayne and James learned about the business through hands-on training. After working for Dwayne’s father in their teenage years, they joined another construction company before starting their own.

“We were young, and life was ahead of us, and we knew we wanted to build.” Dwayne said. “Starting our own company was an opportunity to jump in and start something like that.” 

One of their favorite things about their business is being able to customize a shed to be exactly what the customer wants. They once joined four shed units into one large unit, which was one of the biggest and most complex projects they’ve taken on. 

“The best part is taking someone’s thoughts and putting it on paper and then making it into reality,” Dwayne said. 

“And when a project is done and we have satisfied customers,” James added. 

Dwayne said what makes their company stand out is that their sheds are built differently. Countryside Sheds does not use strand board, instead opting for plywood. 

“They’re built to last,” Dwayne said. “They’re built as if we are building them for ourselves.”