I’m not really much of a flag-waver. I’m not trying to promote a political position or a trendy topic of discussion. But utilizing resources thoughtfully is just logical. Simply living on planet earth means you do a degree of harm, but there’s a logical degree to which I can inflict, without being a menace to the world.
The wood I use is gathered up locally, yard trees aged and failing, or storm-downed, or gnarled trees in people’s forests that are in the way of something the people need to do. Those are the trees I get. I once was considering purchasing a tract of forested land, but by the time I got there to see it the owner had had it timbered. All the trees had been cut and hauled away. But there in the middle of the clear-cut field stood the only tree I would have wanted! All around it lay the remnants of the loggers’ work. My tree had no value to the logging industry and wouldn’t have been accepted by the local sawmill. Yet it was the only one that had value to me, with it’s varied forks, burls and crookedness.
I question the sustainability of logging and the furniture industry, as it’s set up for mass production. I question cheaply made products that are thrown away in a year or so.
I want to make use of wood that would be thrown away. I use wood that bigger companies would waste – wood that’s diseased, twisted, not ‘standard.’
I don’t do mass production.
I make products that will give a lifetime of use – or longer – and won’t have to be replaced in a year or two.
The use I make of wood is a “normal” use, a reasonable use, not waste.