The Beauty Hidden Inside
Butternut |
Butternut is one of North America’s most stunning timbers. Sometimes called “White Walnut” or “Golden Walnut” as it is a member of the walnut family, it has a beautiful golden brown hue with a cathedral grain pattern that often look like waves breaking on a beach. Due to blighting, this once populous timber can now only be found in 10% of its former growth range across Eastern North America (Canada and the U.S.). |
 |
Elm Cluster |
European Elm is a name given to a group of similar species. It is found in temperate regions of Europe. Elm Cluster that derives from European Elm combines elegant swirled areas of grain with more decorative burr sections (knotty areas that occur in certain European Elm trees) which can be very intricate. Elm is often used in decorative wood turning and for furniture design. Being noted for its resistance to water it is also traditionally used in boat-building. |  |
Maple Burl |
Beloved for its unique, abstract graining, burl wood makes a sophisticated statement that works with a variety of design styles. Maple Burl comes from "burls" that can develop on Big Leaf Maples. A burl is a growth that occurs on a tree (maple tree in this case) and can be found underground in the tree roots, in rounded outgrowths on the trunk, or on knotty branches. Burls appear in all shapes and sizes. As a burl growth develops the grain becomes twisted and interlocked, creating both incredibly unique grains and patterns unique to each and every burl and also turning the wood extremely dense, which makes it both beautiful and incredibly durable for use in high end art and furniture. Burls do not occur on every Maple, and most burls are not very large, making this a rare find. |
 |
Olive |
Olive wood, derived from Olive trees, is considered an exotic wood and is known for its cream to golden hues with fine uniform texture, natural shine, and unique curly, interlinked or widely patterned grain. The grain pattern is often swirling in nature as the trunks of Olive trees are not completely round. Native to Southern Europe, Eastern Africa, and the Middle East Olive wood slabs are hard to come by as only the branches are pruned so these centuries-old trees can continue to grow. It’s additionally costly due to the slow drying process that must be undertaken (such as kiln-drying) in order to minimize the wood warping. |
 |
Spalted Maple |
Rare and difficult to find, it’s often said that finding Spalted Maple is like “finding truffles in a forest.” Spalted Maple actually starts out as a regular maple until unique decay causes a black marble pattern to form, giving it one of the most unique looks of all timbers. While spalting can occur in other of the blonder woods such as Poplar and Birch, those species are so soft that once spalting occurs the wood becomes too weak and unusable. Maple, however, is much harder and so the beauty of the spalting can endure. What makes finding Spalted Maple even more difficult? An entire tree won’t become spalted. Rather, spalting typically starts at the bottom of the tree and disappears after the first 4 feet or so. |
 |