Tuesday, May 5, 2009

OLD GROWTH,GUILT FREE,Planter Boxes, Coatracks, Custom Table


The first photos are of some custom planters recently completed. These boxes are made from REPURPOSED OLD GROWTH stock. I use old decks, fences, and door parts. I remill it and build these boxes. I have been building planters like these for over 15 years, many are with family and friends and are still in use today. The planters I see sold commercially today are built with inferior materials such as redwood containing sapwood( it is the outside layers of the log, it is white in color and it rots out within a couple of years- is usually disguised by application of full-coat stains), cedar(again, has very little resistence to decay), or second growth redwood(pink in color, what you see at the lumber yards today, and again has much less resistence to decay than old growth). I believe that my boxes will last decades. I build them on a frame fastened with stainless steel screws, the boards are nailed with galvanized nails. I use full 1" stock for the bottoms, and use a transparent penetrating oil finish to enhance the natural color of the wood. I have seen only one other company making high quality boxes like these, they are on the web, located near Healdsburg, and my prices are approx. half of what they are charging. I have applied and been accepted by seveal local farmers market associations to sell these boxes as an artisanthis summer. I will be visiting the Marin Farmers markets in San Rafael throughout the summer, thurs. and Sundays at the Civic Center. Also, the Urban Village markets, Claremont(Oakland) and Los Altos. Contact me for specific dates. The table pictured here was a custom order. I recently was given a quantity of rough sawn Douglas Fir framing stock, repurposed from a SF victorian remodel. The clients wanted a rustic piece, they visited my studio/shop and picked out this material for their table. I attached it to a base they purchased at the Alameda monthly Antique Faire,a heavy cast iron piece.I liked the way it came out, I plan on building several other tables out of this material. Finally, I posted several more photos of coatracks, many of these are going to Zonal, on Hayes st. in SF. I am still using the antique furniture parts as embellishments on these, they are very popular.


























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