We’ve been winding these delights together all morning to have them into store for the week. It’s been a long awaited set delivered from wonderful Brunswick joiner, John Beckwith, who has mastered these artplay seats for us.
John told me a great story about naming Australian timbers when I went in to see him getting these seats together last week; he said he had a delivery of wood for a piece he was making marked ‘Vic Ash’, though he’d asked for ‘Tassie Oak’ for the job there was no point questioning it because it was all the same species!
I couldn’t believe it, all my days I’ve visualised some mysterious European look alike native down in Tassie with broad leaves and nuts. Basically what I gathered from our conversation was that all general eucalyptus varieties milled from predominantly state parks were named merely by the grain and colour of the unknown wood cuts brought in, not the species. Victorian Ash, White Gum, Brown Topped Gum, Stringy Bark, Tassie Oak, Manna Gum, Messmate, Australian Oak – all unknown hardwood species.
So we dedicated some of our centre wood braces to this tale, perhaps to think about giving some integrity of title to our unbelievable Australian trees. I mean this may have been aceptable considering the knowledge available during the early pionerring days but I think it’s time to move on.
Above are the seats coming together in the studio. Below Stewart Russell playing with the final three left at the studio.
perfect, sorry for all the hassle, yes, the pair with yellow, black birch are the ones I’e been waiting for. Felt funny testing the ergonomics with the table, and now there here I’m more inclined to think of them as sculpture. thanks for your help