We source beautiful local hardwoods, sometimes from our own backyard. How do we do it? Nuisance trees, mostly.
What are they? Why such a nuisance?
Nuisance trees have slightly different definitions depending on where you live, but can loosely be defined as a tree that could damage property or cause bodily harm. (Bodily harm, AH!)
There are a myriad of reasons why trees are classified as a nuisance. It could be because that eager silver maple has grown a little too close to your house or that towering ash has starting to press against telephone lines. But most commonly, (and how we’ve gotten most of our wood) is when mother nature decides to blow over some these beauties in a storm.
How we get ‘em.
So, a storm knocks over a tree, then what happens? Well, if it’s on public property it falls on the municipality for its removal, which generally involves the tree being fed to the chipper.
If it’s on private property then it’s the landowners responsibility for removal than they may do as they please. If they don’t have a fireplace or wood stove (and the ability or motivation to dismantle the tree themselves!) usually the tree once again end up in the chipper (whomp, whomp). We feel like these trees deserve a better afterlife than the chipper. Over the years, our head designer and wood scavenger extraordinaire, Fraser, has rolled around in his plywood trailer and picked up logs from neighbors and friends who have had to cut down trees. Over the years, he's become friends with local tree companies who now drop off logs (or full trees) at our property of trees when possible (#skills).
The beautiful nuisances.
We do not advocate for removal of our majestic neighbors but if they are going to be taken down we figure why not turn them into something beautiful?
Repurposing these trees into thoughtfully crafted products is the best way to honor them. And in this spirit we attempt to let the natural beauty and uniqueness of each tree be the focal point of our designs and aesthetic.
We mill, cut and process in such a way that the most striking characteristics of the wood’s natural beauty is being represented. This takes a little extra time and extra care but we feel that the end result is wholly worth it. We hope you do, too!