BY PEDRO ARRAIS, TIMES COLONIST
Denise Bastian and her husband Don at their art gallery/handmade furniture store, West Coast Wood Designs in Sidney, B.C.Photograph by: Adrian Lam, Victoria Times Colonist
The custom furniture industry is alive and well on Vancouver Island. Homeowners looking for unique furniture, handcrafted the old fashioned way, can find artisans employing traditional techniques using locally sourced materials.
But banish the thought of reproduction Victorian or Chippendale-style furniture. The pieces created by local artisans are distinctly West Coast style, designed and created from native softwood and hardwood species.
Expect to find tables, chairs, benches and the like made from local fruitwood, maple, yew, copper beech, alder and fir.
"My table reflects the perfect fusion between art and Japanese sensibility," says Jane Carroll of her shoji table made by David Barker from maple and arbutus.
"I had a hard time choosing because each of his pieces were noteworthy."
Buyers won't find furniture created by regular dimensional lumber. Large planks from a tree -- with its bark still attached -- form the basis of dining or coffee tables. Woodworkers repurpose timber salvaged from older buildings that have been demolished -- such as the ceiling beams from the old Mayfair Bowling Lanes.
"Our furniture appeals to those looking for something unique," says Denise Bastian, who owns West Coast Wood Designs in Sidney.
She says the shop is the largest wood gallery in British Columbia representing local artists. "Some of the pieces are more than just furniture -- they are functional art."
Her store features furniture, doors and art pieces produced by her husband, Don Bastian, as well as examples of work from more than 80 artists from Vancouver Island.
They will either create their own pieces or consult with clients on commissioned work, where the needs and taste of the buyer are considered before execution of the piece.
Some artisans, such as Merlayna Snyder, are recognized for works that are both unique and artistically exquisite. Their signature works are eagerly sought by collectors. Clients don't buy a piece just for its functionality -- they do so as an investment.
A Duncan company, Live Edge Design, uses only salvaged wood harvested within 160 kilometres of where it grew. They use wood rejected by forest companies as too twisted or gnarled for commercial harvest.
"We see them differently," says Donna Roxburgh, spokeswoman for the company. "We find them beautiful."
They look for windfalls, trees felled because of disease and property development. They have used redwood and arbutus as well more common local species.
Both companies have also had clients bringing in a treasured piece of wood that has sentimental value -- such as an old tree that used to be in the backyard -- to be reworked as a piece of furniture.
A 1.5-metre long dining table, made with planks more than five centimetres thick, costs around $4,000 and up. It can take six to eight weeks to finish a table from existing stock and up to a year for recently felled trees.
Because the tables are made from solid wood, they can be resanded and refinished multiple times, making them likely to be passed on as family heirlooms.
Both companies also offer cabinet-making services, allowing some homeowners to have their kitchen cabinets match their dining-room tables.
parrais@tc.canwest.com
On the web: westcoastwooddesigns.com
liveedge.com
davidbarkerdesign.com
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