Urban Logging

When a durable piece of furniture is built from a log that would otherwise be mulched, not only do we get to experience its unique beauty as a site for new memories, but also all the carbon that tree absorbed over an entire lifetime remains out of our atmosphere, helping fight climate disaster. We also avoid paying the  climate price for material imported (or even worse, exported and then re-imported) as “fast furniture” destined soon for a landfill.

Western North Carolina is a uniquely rich  area for hardwoods, and of course the history of modern forestry (an evolution still very much in progress). We own a 52″  sawmill, and work with a broad swath of neighbors and home-owners, arborists, sawyers and kiln operators in the greater Asheville area to salvage lumber from trees that are either storm-damaged or must come down. It is a unique pleasure to know something of the provenance of so many of our furniture pieces (many clients commission pieces from their own trees).

Responsible urban wood salvage involves safe felling done by certified arborists, hauling to our mill or milling in place, careful and patient air-drying (often for several years) and then kiln-drying to both complete the drying process and to sterilize the lumber, before it can be milled flat once again and fashioned into furniture. Each stage of this process involves careful planning, expertise, physical and financial cost, and not every tree is worth all that investment, but we are always happy to look!