About Us

So, just what is "useful wood art?"

It's creating that beautiful walnut bowl that would rather be used to serve a delicious salad than sit in the middle of the table holding fake fruit.

Or building that unusual serving board that would rather be used as a charcuterie platter than collect dust in the cabinet.

Or turning that unusually shaped piece of wood on the wood lathe into a beautiful natural edged vase that deserves a position of elegence in the center of the table along with its candles in a matching wood.

Or turning that pretty piece of scrap wood into an interesting mason jar lid that can both be useful and decorative.

What we do

We specialize in creating customized, one of a kind pieces using reclaimed or, as we refer to it "resurrected", wood whenever possible.

The material we use often comes from deconstruction sites, fallen trees, or just doing some plain old trash picking along the roadside. We also have a relationship with a purveyor who travels through the south in search of natural edge slabs and turning stock for the wood lathe. The sawyer at the mill often lets him go through his "trash" pile where some real treasures can be found.

We have all heard the expression "smalls" when it comes to describing various collectibles or easily handled pieces. Our unique items which include wooden pens, mason jar lids, bottle stoppers and letter openers would certainly fall into this category giving them a special place in the world of woodworking.

If you have a particular piece you would like made we would like to hear from you. Often it only takes a picture, sketch or dimensioned drawing to get the process started.

How We Do It

Once an idea for a piece has come to mind the search begins for the material with which to give it shape. That might involve going through the wood pile of salvaged logs or checking the garage attic for lumber that is in the drying process.

The lay out process asks "will it be useful as well as attractive?" And "how can we take advantage of the interesting grain patterns and knot locations?" When complete, the "non food" use pieces are sealed with Watco Danish Oil then buffed with either carnuba wax or beeswax to achieve a classic low luster finish. If the item is to be used for food service it is treated with Howards Butcher Block conditioner that both seals the wood and makes it food safe. If it's a spit shine/high gloss finish you are looking for I'm afraid you're in the wrong place. Our natural finishes allow one to "feel" the wood for what it is.

A bowl like this began as a piece from a 6" x 12" x 16 foot long western red cedar beam from a demolition site on Sewalls Point on the Treasure Coast of Florida.

Sometimes it is the wood lathe, sometimes it is the scroll saw and some times it's almost all the shop tools in the garage that help complete the process.

It's satisfying to know that there is life beyond the landfill for such beautiful wood.

Custom work available

Our "featured products" illustrate just a limited selection of the items that have already been created. With that said we want you to know that we enjoy doing custom work. The sailfish plaque pictured was made for a young girl to commemorate the catch and release of her first sailfish. Whether it is a gift for someone special or something you would like to add to your decor send us your thoughts.

In the coming weeks we will begin to add items to our store but if there is something specific you would like made please feel free to contact us with your idea.