Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Quit Wining
And Make Some Furniture
California furnituremaker Whit McLeod turns out award-winning pieces from his Arcata studio deep in redwood country. But his furniture is made not from the surrounding redwood but from wood that has already done duty farther south, in wine country.
McLeod’s singular pieces are almost entirely constructed of reclaimed lumber. Specifically, salvaged oak quartersawn wine barrels. His current inventory consists of material from six different California wineries, made of great oak trees from as close as Mississippi to as far away as France and Hungary.
McLeod’s professional career began in Northern California redwood forests, on the other side of the bark as a wildlife biologist. His reverence for the natural world is reflected in his line of handmade Arts and Crafts furniture.
That spirit of preservation informs his manufacturing process, from relying on vintage machinery that McLeod has retooled himself, to scouring scrap yards for copper to be melted down in his foundry for tiles used in tabletops. Accordingly, every facet of work is done in-house — unusual today but not during the heyday of the Arts and Crafts movement.
His folding chair feels like museum-quality sculpture. Made from white oak, each chair is numbered by the artist on the underside of the seat and branded with the name of the winery where the barrel was used. Finished with natural linseed oil, the chairs retain their original color when used indoors or age gracefully outdoors.
McLeod’s furniture has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fine Woodworking and numerous other national publications. He has been given the American Crafts Council Award of Achievement and his work has been exhibited in the Oakland Museum. Working with McLeod are his wife Kristy and a team of three craftsmen.
Posted by admin at 07:23 PM under furniture & accessories • outdoor living • green
