Do you believe that art can be made from any piece of wood, including scrap? Tell us about your philosophy on wood sourcing and design.
I’d like to say that the motivation behind the development of our woodworking tools was my concern for the environment but the truth is I simply wanted a faster way to freehand shape wood. Having said that, I quickly realised that I could make beautiful and valuable objects from otherwise useless cuts of wood such as tree roots, branches or firewood, not to mention recycled wood. Regular milling techniques seek straight flawless lengths and result in a vast amount of waste, often more than 70% of the tree. With power carving, almost any kind of wood can be used and what would ordinarily be regarded as a flaw can be regarded as a feature.
Currently I source most of my wood from a good friend, John Miller (who is actually a very accomplished jeweller, go on and check him out) who has over many years, rescued and milled a vast amount of timber from road widening and clearing operations that would have otherwise been piled up and burned.