Welcome to Gnarlywood!
My name is Dan. I am a wood addict!
I guess it's nice to know who I am and a little background in my qualifications.
First off, our facility is in a nestled in an area on the outskirts of Cruso, North Carolina. Gods Masterpiece!
I consider the area "Eden", and pray no one eats an apple and gets us all kicked out again.
I grew up a city kid but every chance I had, I was running around a 10,000 acre tract of Michigan's Northern Wilderness west of Mackinaw called Wilderness State Park, either hunting or camping. My Father ingrained the love of the woods into me, as well as a respect for it's beauty and the preservation of his land. My father is an artisan in his own rights and has won many awards for his decoy carvings. My grandfather as well was quite the craftsman. I was destined to get into it, even though I have a love for things automotive, and have gasoline in my veins.
Since I could hold a crayon, I was always drawing something, and I even was drawing A-Frame cabins at age 12. I also was drawing cars and one drawing made it into the hands of a Ford designer and parts of it made it into a Late '60's' Mercury Monterey. It eventually led to me going to college and majoring in Architecture and minoring in Art. I was restoring cars to help pay for college. That was in the late '70's'. I still collect cars. It's a Detroit Genetic Defect, I guess.
I'm still doing Architecture and am a dinosaur , since I still use a pencil (old school, eh?). I've designed, built, was a Building Commish, bought and sold properties, and had my hands in all forms of the home/commercial building processes...always trying to protect the land we had to manipulate. (Not easy!)
But the artist in me was always poking his head up and going "What about me?" That needed satisfied, so in my off time, other disciplines took off.
The Discipline of Wood was inevitable. It's like Conan with the discipline of steel! (ok, not quite..I use a chain saw)
I've disciplined the framing, building, finishing and restoration of homes, but next those homes needed furnished.
SO I GOT ON IT !
My name is Dan. I am a wood addict!
I guess it's nice to know who I am and a little background in my qualifications.
First off, our facility is in a nestled in an area on the outskirts of Cruso, North Carolina. Gods Masterpiece!
I consider the area "Eden", and pray no one eats an apple and gets us all kicked out again.
I grew up a city kid but every chance I had, I was running around a 10,000 acre tract of Michigan's Northern Wilderness west of Mackinaw called Wilderness State Park, either hunting or camping. My Father ingrained the love of the woods into me, as well as a respect for it's beauty and the preservation of his land. My father is an artisan in his own rights and has won many awards for his decoy carvings. My grandfather as well was quite the craftsman. I was destined to get into it, even though I have a love for things automotive, and have gasoline in my veins.
Since I could hold a crayon, I was always drawing something, and I even was drawing A-Frame cabins at age 12. I also was drawing cars and one drawing made it into the hands of a Ford designer and parts of it made it into a Late '60's' Mercury Monterey. It eventually led to me going to college and majoring in Architecture and minoring in Art. I was restoring cars to help pay for college. That was in the late '70's'. I still collect cars. It's a Detroit Genetic Defect, I guess.
I'm still doing Architecture and am a dinosaur , since I still use a pencil (old school, eh?). I've designed, built, was a Building Commish, bought and sold properties, and had my hands in all forms of the home/commercial building processes...always trying to protect the land we had to manipulate. (Not easy!)
But the artist in me was always poking his head up and going "What about me?" That needed satisfied, so in my off time, other disciplines took off.
The Discipline of Wood was inevitable. It's like Conan with the discipline of steel! (ok, not quite..I use a chain saw)
I've disciplined the framing, building, finishing and restoration of homes, but next those homes needed furnished.
SO I GOT ON IT !
The Artist Emerges !
When designing this art gallery in Long Grove Illinois, I was struck by what the artists could create and always thought "I can do that!".
So a few years later HERE WE ARE !
40 years background in Art, Architecture, Building, has led me down a path of seeing lack in the furniture field that needed someones input.
What About Me? I Can Do This!
There was little available in the Contemporary/Rustic area of furniture design. Time To Fill The Void!
I NEEDED WOOD !
Imagine my wife's surprise when these were dumped on the property! (Not Good!)
So a few years later HERE WE ARE !
40 years background in Art, Architecture, Building, has led me down a path of seeing lack in the furniture field that needed someones input.
What About Me? I Can Do This!
There was little available in the Contemporary/Rustic area of furniture design. Time To Fill The Void!
I NEEDED WOOD !
Imagine my wife's surprise when these were dumped on the property! (Not Good!)
Me: "No really, Honey! These are going to be furniture!"
Wife: "ARE YOU CRAZY? LOOK AT THIS MESS !" (Well, yes...I guess it is a mess.)
This was my first stockpile of wood.
These were full of hundreds, maybe thousands of carpenter ants and they were scattering in all directions and the carnage lasted for about a week before we got them cut, debarked, stacked, de-bugged, and into the kiln for 3 months of drying time.
The wife thinks I'm crazy... She's probably right. She'll get over it.
Everything I've done to date has been wood products from downed, damaged, dead trees. Mind you, I am a "conservationist", but not necessarily a "green" type thinker. The desire for me is to find wood with wild GNARLY graining, and tame it. I haven't yet bought wood from a Big Box store. I do occasionally buy from cutters who are doing necessary urban/suburban/rural tree removal, due to storms or just plain dead trees.
So nothing is cut, just for the purpose of making something. The wood comes from trees that were destined to be taken down and/or burned.
The Conservationist in me Demands That!
All of my designs are Semi Contemporary, but using wood of these sorts demands the designs also be Rustic.
I swear, my designs are inspired by the beauty of what God has created for us to enjoy and I try to do my best with His gifts to us. He has inspired my artistic abilities.
God gets the credit. I just act as His apprentice and try to display what He creates.
I hope you enjoy what you see here, and any comments or questions can be directed to the "Contact Gnarlywood" section.
I would love to hear from you.
God Bless(es)
Dan O'
These were full of hundreds, maybe thousands of carpenter ants and they were scattering in all directions and the carnage lasted for about a week before we got them cut, debarked, stacked, de-bugged, and into the kiln for 3 months of drying time.
The wife thinks I'm crazy... She's probably right. She'll get over it.
Everything I've done to date has been wood products from downed, damaged, dead trees. Mind you, I am a "conservationist", but not necessarily a "green" type thinker. The desire for me is to find wood with wild GNARLY graining, and tame it. I haven't yet bought wood from a Big Box store. I do occasionally buy from cutters who are doing necessary urban/suburban/rural tree removal, due to storms or just plain dead trees.
So nothing is cut, just for the purpose of making something. The wood comes from trees that were destined to be taken down and/or burned.
The Conservationist in me Demands That!
All of my designs are Semi Contemporary, but using wood of these sorts demands the designs also be Rustic.
I swear, my designs are inspired by the beauty of what God has created for us to enjoy and I try to do my best with His gifts to us. He has inspired my artistic abilities.
God gets the credit. I just act as His apprentice and try to display what He creates.
I hope you enjoy what you see here, and any comments or questions can be directed to the "Contact Gnarlywood" section.
I would love to hear from you.
God Bless(es)
Dan O'