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Woods we love and how we use them!

Wood reflects natural variety of the cosmos! The grain patterns, textures, and colors vie with beautiful vistas of landscapes, cloudscapes, sunrises and sunsets as reflections of nature's beauty. We feel fortunate and grateful that we have chosen wood as our medium. Not all woods are appropriate for all uses. Phil & I make a variety of things, and choose from our palette of species with care when making an item from wood. We have included here the common name, the scientific name, and very general ways we use the various woods.

This page is a work in progress, but full of sample pictures of woods in our workshop. Every piece of wood is unique, so the pictures are "Examples" and representative of the woods we use. If you don't see a sample picture here of a wood species you are interested in - email us, and we will look into the nooks and crannies and see if we have a piece... You never know!

Please remember that every piece of wood is different. We try to show representative samples of wood, but there are always color and grain differences!

A note... tropical woods are, as we all know, endangered - we purchase ONLY from reputable dealers who follow the law of the countries in which these woods grow. As of August, 2010, fewer and fewer permits are being "let" to the people who harvest the woods.. We are very concerned about the environment and the health and welfare of the people and the indigenous species in these forests (as well as those in the forests of North America and Europe).. We will continue to work in the exotic and tropical woods so long as they are legally available, but we will be working more with the woods that grow in the Cherokee National Forest in E. Tennessee (where we live). We harvest wood sustainably from trees that are taken by storm, drought, and careful management by the Park rangers. We thank you for your support.

Phil & Martha

DOMESTIC WOODS (NORTH AMERICAN)

CHERRY WOOD (Prunus serotina ) Eastern Forests, North America - Appalachians kitchen ware, hair accessories, furniture, boxes	CURLY SWAMP MAPLE (Acer macrophyllum) North America hair barrettes, kitchen ware, bowls, carvings, boxes, inlay (no picture today)
SYCAMORE (Acer pseudopiatanus) Eastern Forests, N. America, UK, Europe bowls, kitchenware, boxes	Black Walnut (Jugians nigra) Eastern Forests, N. America furniture, boxes, bowls, kitchenware, cutting boards,
MAPLE (Acer macrophyllum) North America hair accessories, kitchen ware, carvings, bowls, boxes, furniture	AMBROSIA, FLAG MAPLE (Acer macrophyllum) North America kitchen ware, carvings, bowls, boxes, furniture
Osage Orange, Bodark, Bois d'Arc, Horse Apple golden, grainy - turns golden tan (Maclura pomifera)	Dogwood (Cornus florida) Eastern Forests N. America hair accessories, jewelry, spoons and utensils, carving, inlay work.
	Apple Wood

EXOTIC WOODS, Asian and AFRICAN

MACASSAR EBONY WOOD (Diospyros marmorata) Andaman Islands hair accessories, specialty kitchen, carvings, boxes, inlay	PINK IVORY (Berchemia zeyheri) South Africa currently unavailable hair accessories, inlay
AFRICAN BLACKWOOD Dalbergia Melanoxylon - Common Name - Mpingo hair accessories, inlay, carvings extremely hard and dense rosewood	WENGE (Millentia laurentil) West Africa hair accessories, furniture, boxes, inlay
BUBINGA (Guibourtia demeusei) Camaroon hair accessories, furniture, boxes, inlay	Gaboon (Gabon) Ebony (Diospyrus spp.) Gaboon, Southern Nigeria, Cameroon, and Zaire hair sticks, inlay, carvings

ZEBRAWOOD (Microberlinia brazzavillenis) West Africa hair accessories, furniture, boxes, inlay	PADOUK (Pterocarpus soyauxii) Camaroon hair accessories, furniture, boxes, inlay

EXOTIC WOODS, TROPICAL CENTRAL, NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA

BOCOTE (CORDIA) (Cordia elaeagnoides) Mexico hair accessories, furniture, carvings, boxes	CHAKTE VIGA pernambuco - Central America hair accessories, inlay, carving
PAU AMERELLO (YELLOWHEART) (Euxiioophora paraensis huber) Brazil, S. America hair accessories, specialty kitchen, boxes, inlay yellow - stays shimmery yellow	CARDINAL WOOD (BLOODWOOD) (Brosimum paraense) Tropical America the deep red/pink is not currently available this is a pretty dusky pink to cream color hair accessories, specialty kitchen, boxes, inlay
PURPLE HEART (Peltogyne spp.) Central and South America hair accessories, specialty kitchen, boxes, inlay	GONCALO ALVES (Astronium fraxinfolium) S. America - Brazil hair accessories, boxes, inlay
MAHOGANY, HONDURAN (Swistenia macrophylla) Tropical Americas (N & S) hair accessories, kitchenware, bowls, furniture, boxes, inlay	TULIP WOOD (Dalbergia frutesscene) Brazil currently unavailable hair accessories, specialty kitchen, boxes, inlay
BOLIVIAN ROSEWOOD (MORADO, MORADILLO) (Dalberia nigra) hair accessories, kitchen specialties, furniture, carvings, boxes	ZIRICOTE (Cordia dodecandra) Mexico hair accessories, carvings, boxes, inlay
Canarywood (Centrolobium spp.) Central and South America hair accessories, boxes, inlay, specialty kitchen, furniture, bowls	Cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa) Central America from Panama to Mexico hair accessories, inlay, jewelry, boxes, specialty kitchen
Chechen	Brazilian Kingwood (Dalbergia cearensis) currently unavailable hair accessories, specialty kitchen, boxes, inlay, carvings