Our furniture is made from premium-grade North American hardwoods, predominately in cherry and walnut.
The more one knows about the unique characteristics of wood and its source, the better one can understand the degree of warmth and beauty that it brings to our lives. Each grain pattern is a unique masterpiece of design, texture and splendor. We use a total of Eight Hardwoods as shown below.
The more one knows about the unique characteristics of wood and its source, the better one can understand the degree of warmth and beauty that it brings to our lives. Each grain pattern is a unique masterpiece of design, texture and splendor. We use a total of Eight Hardwoods as shown below.
Cherry (Prunus Serotina) - This traditional wood is native to North America, we get our Cherry from the Appalachian plateau of Pennsylvania. A strong, close-grained hardwood, it deepens to a rich reddish brown patina with age. Sunlight merely accelerates this inevitable process. Sun will eventually start to bleach the color, so maintain the richness of Cherry by avoiding windows! It will darken within weeks or months to a red-brown color. Direct or reflected sunlight hastens this darkening yet in the end the wood will reach a darker state with or without sunlight. Sunlight hastens the natural darkening process which inevitably occurs so the color will eventually even out if exposure to sun is uneven. Fading and lighter colors can eventually result from very prolonged exposure to sunlight.
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American Black Walnut (Juglans nigra) -
Grown in the rich forestlands of Michigan & Wisconsin, this regal wood is known for its deep color and figure. Walnut’s presence is ageless if kept in a sunny location; its color will mellow to a reddish brown and the figure will retain its beauty. |
Mahogany (Sapele- Entandrophragma Cylindricum) - Sapele Mahogany is very similar to African Mahogany yet harder and denser, with a fine, interlocked grain. It may also yield a wavy grain that produces a distinctive rowed figure on quartered surfaces. Found in lower tropical rain forests and tropical, semi-evergreen rain forests throughout Africa, including West Africa, Liberia, the Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Zaire and Angola, it works and finishes nicely, holding it's deep reddish color well over time. I have chosen to use Sapele because of it's excellent machining properties and durability. A relatively common and rapid growing tree it is under commercial pressure from worldwide demand. Ribbon grain pattern left and FlatSawn grain pattern right. Same tree, different grain patterns.
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Maple (Acer Macrophyllum) - Broadleaf Maple (shown below) is used for the Brendan Rocker, barstools, and benches and is selected for intense figure and interesting color. Western Broadleaf Maple is a warmer color than the more common eastern Sugar Maple, which is more white. Up to 120 feet tall and 9 feet in diameter, Broadleaf Maple has played an important role in the Pacific Northwest for millennia. It’s range extends from coastal, central British Columbia, Canada, all the way south to Southern California, U.S. We get our Maple from a local sawmill. Historically, Broadleaf Maple was an important resource to First Nations peoples, who carved the wood and used the huge leaves as a cooking tool. Today this Maple is an important wood for furniture, flooring and boat building. One in a hundred trees contain the exotic figured grain (also known as Tiger Maple and Fiddleback). It is a tough strong wood which cuts nice and clean, with excellent machining qualities. Maple is the principal forest species in areas where the land is burned or logged. The common end of the Maple spectrum is shown at the right with very little figuring.
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White Oak (Quercus alba) - North America contains the largest number of oak species, with approximately 90 occurring in the United States. Mexico has 160 species, of which 109 are endemic. The second greatest center of oak diversity is China, which contains approximately 100 species. Oak wood is quite dense, creating great strength and hardness. The wood is very resistant to insect and fungal attack because of its high tannin content. It also has very appealing grain markings, particularly when quarter-sawn. Oak planking was common on high status Viking longships in the 9th and 10th centuries. The wood was hewn from green logs, by axe and wedge, to produce radial planks, similar to quarter-sawn timber.
Bubinga (or Kevazingo) (Guibourtia Demeusei) - An exotic wood from equatorial east Africa, Bubinga, also known as African Rosewood or Buvenga, is known for its deep brownish-red color and dramatic highlights ranging from golden orange to dark purple, as well as it's great strength and density. Its grain is very fine and interlocking. Bubinga trees, which grow near lakes and riverbeds as well as marshes, are very large, with logs weighing up to 10 tons due to the wood’s density. While not endangered, the conservation status of Bubinga is “vulnerable” or “threatened” so we must use it with care. The flooring industry is soaking up large quantities of Bubinga.
Mango (Mangifera Indica)- Open-grained and streaked with pinks Mango is undoubtedly the most striking and rich woods we use. Moderate in density and hardness and "Tropical" in appearance due to it's lack of seasonal growth rings. Mango is prone to scuff marks. Greenish yellow when freshly sawn, I have to control the moisture during the drying process to encourage the pinks, purple and gray colors. Cultivated circum-globally I get my Mango from a one person sawmill operation on the island of Hawaii and is typically cut from residential areas. Mango is only available as a standard wood in the Brendan Rocker, Ottoman, and barstools seats. Mango in any other furniture may require 3-4 months extra time depending on what we have in available Mango boards.
6-25-18 UPDATE: our current mango supply is extremely limited due to a combination of volcanic eruptions and a some recent business turmoil. We must buy Mango lumber by the entire tree therefore are unable to get small quantities. I am working to rectify this situation and in the meantime please be patient. While mango is plentiful, the qualuity of grain and color we use IS NOT.
6-25-18 UPDATE: our current mango supply is extremely limited due to a combination of volcanic eruptions and a some recent business turmoil. We must buy Mango lumber by the entire tree therefore are unable to get small quantities. I am working to rectify this situation and in the meantime please be patient. While mango is plentiful, the qualuity of grain and color we use IS NOT.
Beech (Fagus) - is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America. Beech grows on a wide range of soil types, acidic or basic, provided they are not waterlogged. The tree canopy casts dense shade, and carpets the ground thickly with leaf litter.The fruit of the beech tree is known as beechnuts or mast and is found in small burrs that drop from the tree in autumn. It is small, roughly triangular and edible, with a bitter, astringent taste. They have a high enough fat content that they can be pressed for edible oil. Fresh from the tree, beech leaves are a fine salad vegetable, as sweet as a mild cabbage though much softer in texture. Commonly used for furniture, we use beechis quite hard and durable. It has a stable, honey blonde color when finished naturally. Any stain color should be light because beech absorbs dark colors unevenly.
Live Edge Slabs are wonderfully unique and exude a naturalistic character unachievable in any other way. The woods we use are most often Maple or Fir, with Walnut also available. There are two ways to achieve a Live Edge Slab. Below is a description of both and the limitations of each method.
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Live Slab Edge to Edge A true edge to edge Live slab is shown at the left (Broadleaf Maple). True live slabs are limited in availability, quality, and are expensive! Typically Live Slabs are a finished 2-1/2" thickness. Dimensions desired, grain detail and color are all features difficult to get in the right combination. Live Slabs (one piece from edge to edge). Edge to Edge live slabs usually are 30-50% more than the method below. Part of that cost is the sourcing of the slabs and transportation to our shop. Move in and setup can be difficult because of the weight and shape. We do make Live Slab tables on request, however the best know live edge furniture maker is Urban Hardwoods in Seattle. Their website shows much of what they do and they have showrooms in Seattle and San Francisco. |
Glued Up Live Edge Slab
We use two sources for live edge slabs. Usually what people want is what I call a "Glued Up Live Edge Slab" as shown at the left. We place carefully selected live edge boards on the outside and edge glue several wide boards from the same tree in the center. The pieces are artfully matched for grain and color. Typically a "Glued Up Live Edge Slab" is finished at 1-3/4 to 2" thickness and has much greater flexibility in the sizing (you aren't constrained to exactly what is available). We can cull out pitch pockets and shatter wood for a cleaner look.
Live edge slabs are not a commodity and often require time to source as well as build (and sometimes dry), so plan accordingly.
