Monday, May 23, 2011

Salvaged Appalachian red birch off the Biltmore estate.

This is one of our greatest finds yet to date! We have a few pieces of a huge red birch tree that fell down during a storm on the Biltmore estate. The tree was quickly cared for and we were able to purchase a few pieces from our sawyer. Red birch slightly resembles black cherry when milled and finished.

Here are a few pictures and the history of the Biltmore estate.






Building Biltmore was, at the time, one of the largest undertakings in the history of American residential architecture and the results were astounding. Over a six-year period, an entire community of craftsmen worked to build the country's premier home. The estate boasted its own brick factory, woodworking shop, and a three-mile railway spur for transporting materials to the site.

A New World Château
The celebrated architect Richard Morris Hunt modeled the house on three châteaux built in 16th-century France. It would feature 4 acres of floor space, 250 rooms, 34 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, and 65 fireplaces. The basement alone would house a swimming pool, gymnasium and changing rooms, bowling alley, servants' quarters, kitchens, and more.

An Environmental Wonder
The grounds of the 125,000-acre estate were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the creator of New York's Central Park and the father of American landscape architecture. He not only developed acres of gardens and parkland, but in his efforts to protect the environment and reclaim over-farmed land, Olmsted established America's first managed forest.

A True Family Home
George Vanderbilt officially opened the home to friends and family on Christmas Eve in 1895. He had created a country retreat where he could pursue his passion for art, literature, and horticulture. After marrying the American Edith Stuyvesant Dresser (1873–1958) in Paris during the summer of 1898, George and his new bride came to live at the estate. Their only child, Cornelia (1900–1976), was born and grew up at Biltmore.

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Selected work of the week: French country vanity.

This week we chose to highlight a custom french country style vanity with hand turned hard maple legs, and mortise and tenon joinery. We love pieces like these because we get to be creative and explore classic designs while fulfilling our customers needs.

Enjoy the pictures.


Sunday, May 15, 2011

New boards! Salvaged Appalachian crab apple.

The wood in these boards came from a tree located in northern Asheville NC. It was once a fruit bearing tree and provided for its owners for years. It was damaged in a storm about 6 months ago and our local sawyer was quick in saving and caring for the material so it may be used for woodworking. We decided with all of the character the wood had to offer serving and cutting boards would best suit the material.

We would also like to mention the wonderful chef's knife in the pictures below was custom crafted for us from 100% reused materials by C. Thomas. You can find there shop "theknife" on www.etsy.com as well.

Enjoy the pictures below and If you see on you like you can find it on our Appalachian Joinery shop page at www.etsy.com





Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Salvaged Mammoth Kauri carbon dated to be 30,000-50,000 years old.

With our work we use mostly locally salvaged Appalachian hardwood to build our furniture, however we have recently found rare access to a very limited supply of Salvaged Ancient Mammoth Kauri originating in New Zealand. The Kauri has been cut into huge slabs measuring about 4' in width which would make most amazing dining/conference table tops.

Heres the story-

Kauri


Botanical name: Agathis australis


Family: Angiosperm

The Kauri species originate on the northern island of New Zealand and are said to date back to pre-historic times (Between 130 to 180 million years ago). Kauri trees still grow today due to their unique ability to interact with soil and have been able to compete with more evolved and faster growing species in the same family. The tree can attain a height of 120ft to 150ft and the trunk size can grow to over 15ft in diameter which rivals the Sequoias found in California. Kauris reach maturity in about 300 years and are said to live longer than 600 years of age and up to 2000 years of age.

The original Kauri forest covered a very large area and at the peak of their existences the forests were spreading at a rate of 600 ft per year, climatic changes and theories such as giant Tsunamis rolling through the swampy areas where they grew lead to a decline of these forests. Many of these felled trees sank into the muddy swamps and were preserved from the elements. Today, with the help of modern earth moving equipment, these giant logs are being excavated and brought out of the swamps. The salvaged wood has been carbon dated 25 000 to 50 000 years.




Monday, May 9, 2011

Video on us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv3Yn4VrQ6E

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Gift Certificates now available

Let the food lover in your life make up there own mind! Give them a gift certificate to our Etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AppalachianJoinery?ref=pr_shop_more