From the image here presented you can clearly ascertain, at least, one thing about me. Yes, I do have quite a lot of ‘stuff’ for a person living in a tiny home. But look closer and you will see that each of these, completely functional, useful, beautiful, and largely pre-used, vintage items are made from wood. I. LOVE. WOOD.
These relatively inexpensive, very varied and regularly used little things, I have accumulated, without deliberate woody intent, throughout my, sometimes turbulent, lifetime. Some have been gifted to me, some stumbled across, some I have deliberately sought out, and some I have bought from talented, committed, artistic and individually creative makers. But all have a little tale to tell.
And here, dear reader is my point (yes, of course, there is one!)
People who make things from wood do it with care, precision and, using their own inspiration, their time, their love, they create what can only be a singular masterpiece. A piece is hewn from a majestic oak, a beauteous beech, a wonderful walnut, comes not just as the lovely item that you have chosen, but as much, much more. You shall be investing your hard-earned into something that has lived an assiduous, honourable life, and has been created by a human being…two hands, two eyes, a nose and a heart!
Think about it. Is your abode populated with yards of metal and plastic? Does your ‘tech’ rule your existence? Is your watch, your, speaker, or even your fridge ‘smart’…is it really though!? I can’t help but muse that you will expect to replace all this junk within the next two years? Now, indulge me here… hold an individually made, wooden treasure in your hands, smell it, stroke it…now that really is smart. These timeless, enduringly beautiful, yet practical and functional possessions shall never ever require you to fork out for an additional guarantee because the faceless manufacturer cannot be sure that your gadget will last more than a year, you will not be needing to plug them in and watch your ‘smart’ meter go bonkers and downloading updates will most certainly not be necessary. A beauteous, handcrafted tree-born artefact shall never degenerate into a pile of outdated detritus to be cast aside and forgotten, as it languishes, in the landfill graveyard, our planet is beginning to be overwhelmed by.
Picture, if you will, the day when you pass your beloved grandma’s rolling pin onto your, now grown, child. Just as beautiful and useful as when granny made apple pies…no need for updating, redesigning, or, heaven forfend, replacing it with a techy one. Just perfect, warm, smooth, soft and made precious by the touch of so many human hands. No reason at all to suppose that it shan’t be lovingly rolled under the palms of your baking kin forever.
If however, I have failed, in my impassioned entreaties, to convince you to fill your life with wonderful wood, then go forth…go…go now, out into the world, and seek for yourself the tallest, most magisterial tree. Open your eyes, your arms and your heart and hug that miraculous deity of the natural world. Breathe, smell, listen, feel and believe!