ash | Industrial/ Craftsman Furniture

Looking for the perfect piece, searching for the perfect piece…

Finding the right wood, whether looking through a dumpster, a wood pile, or some freshly sliced timber — knowing what you are looking at is an art.

Identifying the species, age, growth pattern — is it Dry? Cured? Kilned? Is it an “Old Growth” tree or Urban Forested?

Juniper From Jerome

Three main ways I get wood.

ONE

Urban forested: These are yard trees cut down or blown down, which are milled into useable slabs. Usually has one or both live edges.

An Entire Mesquite tree from Sun City

Himalayan Cedar

Walnut For Barrio Gran Reserva

Assorted woods and wood shopping.

TWO

Urban Foraged: Wood found in dumpsters, ally ways, or curbside.

With all the remodels in historic neighborhoods If you are careful you can find some real “Old growth” treasures.

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Dumpster score with Miss Bane in Coronado.

In short I use many methods to get the woods I use, but I want them all to be as beautiful and sustainable as possible. Knowing what is useful, what is not, what is firewood, what will not burn.

This entire show was found wood.

THREE

Reclaimed: Found in yards, or online purchased, maybe even from a “barn wood store”

This wood is usually old, either a demolished building, or someone was storing it for quite some time.

Green Goddess house of herbs was all reclaimed wood from a Bar in New River.

Old growth Fir “found”

Pile of wood

Handmade Bridge

Kitchen and bridge in Ghent, NY made of wood found on site.

‘What is Urban Lumber?’ you may ask… Think of all the unique and interesting trees people grow here in the Valley. Then think about all the downed trees you see during monsoon season, when someone has to remove a tree because of where it’s growing. Where do these trees go? To the dump? To the mulch or compost farm? Why not to a local saw mill where they can be turned into lumber? On my quest for new and different wood for a project, I found three sources of just that, lumber made from trees that grew in the city. Imagine all the exotic hardwoods you could ever want grown right near home, no more cutting down the rainforest or national park near you, and the hardwoods are amazing. I found Maple (from Oregon), Arizona Ash, Elm, Cottonwood, Black Acacia, and four types of Mesquite so different in color that it’s hard to believe they were the same type of tree. Talk about sustainable Local, Handmade, furniture built from renewable and beautiful wood.