Enjoy the furniture galleries 1 thru 6-- please read about these extraordinary woods. These are works of love, imagination and time.
Woods and Materials --- hand carved in the traditional manner
About Koa Wood:
Koa wood is one of the rarest woods in the world. Koa trees grow only in a very special climate. They can be found at high elevations (2000-5000 feet above sea level) on the Hawaiian Volcano Kiluhua . In order to be harvested, the tree must be 80% dead. Early in this century, a corporation was found guilty of cutting 120 trees that were not yet 80% dead; they were fined 5 million dollars by the state of Hawaii.
Out of all the Koa cut, only 5% have any curl in its growth. Curl, or undulating growth is what makes the wood shine and shimmer. . It is much more difficult to hand carve.The top of Richard's largest table is made out of the finest curly koa wood they had seen in years,. He was lucky enough to be in Hawaii when the tree for that very table was cut down.
After the tree is cut down, curly koa of such quality gets sliced into 1/64 or 1/32 veneers, some for C.F. Martin Guitar Co. The wood for that specific table cost $7,000 even before it was milled because of its exceptional quality. Less than 1% of all Koa wood has such fine quality curl.
Generaly only curly koa from the same tree can be used together as the figure and color vary widely from tree to tree and boards of this rare curl quality over 5 ft. are almost non existant. looking along the grain one sees a more redish color, but as you walk by the front of the table the cross grain turns a more golden hue and delights the senses with trhe visual movement of the curl.
About Red Quilted Maple:
Red Quilted Maple Wood is the rarest maple wood. It's growth pattern is "in and out and about." .The company I purchase it from gets 50,000 board feet of figured maple per month It took them 18 months to come across red quilted maple for my projects very rare indeed. A challenge to hand carve but visually, it has extraordinary movement
About Linden Wood
The most highly used wood for the fine carvers of England France Germany and Spain for castles and churches through the centuries
Autumn Clematis vine
solid curly koa hand carved console table 40.25"L x 15.25"w x 27.25" h
TREASURED FURNISHINGS
please click on photo galleries 1 thru 8
autumn clematis -- rare solid hawaiian curly koa hand carved 40" w x 15.25" d x 27.23" d
