Some say that I am a ‘chip off of the old block’, however that is actually describing what my father is doing with his time now. He turns wood bowls. It started out as a hobby while he was in the corporate world, but now his hobby has “turned” into a living.
This is a green blog- so how is his business green? I do remember him collecting old pallets, deconstructing them and making furniture out of them when we were growing up. Now he takes fallen trees, scraps of woods, glues them together to make segmented woods bowls.
Here is an expert from an interview with him:
Matt: “So dad, I want to write about your work on my blog- what is green about what you do?”
Matt’s dad: “Most all of my solid work is from storm damaged or recovered wood. This could be due to disease, new construction etc. None is just cut for the sake of turning.”
Matt: “What about the wood that you buy? Not all of it is from fallen trees.”
Matt’s dad: “The domestic segmented pieces come from several sources.
I have a lot that was cut and air dried by locals who had trees downed and had a portable mill come in and cut the lumber.
When I can get my hands on it, it is spalted and is generally a waste product. The tree is already dead or down when I try to get good maple but has already started to decay, hence the spalting.
Some domestics come from a local mill that has its own tree farms and picks up logs as they come available through local landowners. Again, not specifically cut for timber, but taken advantage of .”
Matt: “I noticed that some of your wood is exotic- how do you know if it is endangered or not”
Matt’s dad: “I can’t say it is 100% ” green” but I do try to deal with reputable sources.
The exotics are anyone’s guess. Some like olive trees downed after they no longer produce fruit, and are replanted. Some of the South American woods are due to deforestation for farming etc. Most of the woods like purpleheart used to be put into piles and burnt. They were considered trash woods by the locals. I am sure there is a percentage that is ” poached” as many of the burl woods are.”
Matt: “So by you using this wood for a more durable purpose is better than them just burning it or letting it rot even though it is not certified?”
Matt’s dad: “We have to remember that less than 1% of deforested wood end up in the hands of someone who makes something lasting out of it. Most is burned or turned into paper products. Yeah, remember the rain forest next time you flush. More is used that way that by woodworkers.”
To see more of his work visit: MatMar Woodworks
If you are in the Atlanta area he will be at the Decatur Arts Festival in May
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