Thanks for your interest in my rustic twig furniture! I am not a professional woodworker, though my father is a master! There's no one better in my opinion! I have learned a lot from him, and still ask for his advice all the time. It must be genetic, too, because my uncles and some of my cousins are real craftsmen, too. Well... I have and aunt that built her own house! So, I guess I can't forget the women, either! I can't learn enough!
Nearly all the tools I use are family heirlooms or gifts from Dad or my husband. Both support my work!
Each piece of furniture I make is a visceral thing to me. It would be a lot easier if I had a formula or exact measurements. Trees around here don't grow looking like straight, planed smooth boards! That would ruin everything, anyway! I actually LOOK for odd shaped curves, twists and turns in the wood and envision it as a piece I want to create before I ever cut the tree! I often kinda feel bad for the tree that has had so many bumps and turns in life. It's amazing the resilience they have. I like to celebrate that in my furniture! I enjoy just looking at the personal pieces I own. And each is quite functional, made with a purpose in mind!
I started making twig furniture in 1998. One of my most favorite things to do is to read on my front porch in my comfy, Amish built rocking chair. But I needed an end table and a footstool. I didn’t have enough money but I had an abundance of wood. So, I made myself what I needed! I didn’t stop there, I made more for inside my home – a nightstand for my guest bedroom with a bottom shelf for reading material. And I made more for gifts. I also made a beautiful rose arbor and a pergola.
My home sits on 10 acres of abundant woodlands in the heart of Pennsylvania. The wood for my furniture comes from own my woodlot, which I manage to promote the healthy growth of all the trees. I make furniture from the trees that need cleared for this purpose. In fact, the forest is always creeping up on my yard; so, most comes just from pruning! Nothing goes to waste! I don't use downed wood unless I know the source of it's demise. There is too great a chance for insects - the natural process of nature for downed trees! I use only healthy specimens!
I like to use sweet birch. I love the smell! There has never been a summer gone by since I was a little girl that I did not chew on some birch bark! It has a wintergreen-like taste and scent. At one time about 100 years ago, you could sell birch bark for cash. The oil from the bark was used to flavor medicine and candy and as a liniment. Externally the oil from the bark was applied as a pain reliever for wounds and sprains. As I was making the twig furniture for etsy, I had a pot of twigs boiling on the stove just to soak my poor aching hands in at the end of the day! In folk medicine, a tea made from the twigs and bark was also a remedy for rheumatism and other aches and pains. Scientifically, the sweet birch bark does have astringent properties and contains methyl salicylate – a pain reliever. The oil does help to alleviate sore muscles!
So, none of my tree goes to waste! The parts not usable for the furniture are cut up into firewood and kindling for my fireplace, and the smallest twigs broken up and boiled to soothe my hard-worked hands. Not only that, my yard gets pruned and the house smells like sweet birch! A nice pile of unusable wood and brush is a very good excuse for a bonfire party! I really "don't get" people who burn a pile of wood just to get rid of it. Heat you house or throw a party!
I still have my original two pieces of furniture I made in 1998. They are outside on a covered and protected porch every summer and brought indoors for the winter. They are still in good shape! This furniture will last long if protected and well cared for.
Also, I make these the day they are cut. They are very “Green” which means the life is still in the tree. If fact, sometimes they have sprouted leaves after I’ve made the furniture! Making the furniture while the wood is still green allows me to bend and shape it as I want. Also, I think it helps the wood to settle in and tighten itself into place. So, my furniture is unfinished.
A lot of thought and hard work goes into designing each OOAK- One of a kind item I sell here at thimbledoodleWoods. I am always surprised at how each project turns out! -Usually not as was originally intended! You HAVE to go with the flow when making these! I hope you enjoy my furniture! Check it out at etsy.com/shop/thimbledoodlewoods
