Colorado furniture manufacturers incorporating blue-tinted wood of beetle-killed trees into their products gain attention for unique look, while keeping designs simple
Audrey Dixon
LOS ANGELES
,
June 4, 2013
(Industry Intelligence Inc.)
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Furniture manufacturers using the blue-tinted wood of pine beetle-killed trees are gaining attention for their products, which include desks, tables, media storage and dining furniture, though the raw material can also be used for flooring, framing and siding, Woodworking Network reported June 3.
Increasingly, manufacturers are finding that the bluey hue of beetle-killed pine--or Denim pine as it is trademarked in British Columbia--is trendy for its interesting look and mercurial color.
One Colorado furniture maker using the beetle-killed wood is John Misak, owner of Southern Rustic Furnishings. Misak noted blue-stained pine has “another chapter, another life” and that people are happy to see it being put to good use.
He said his Adirondack chairs are ideally suited to the blue, gray and blue-gray tint of the wood, which he sources from local mills. He looks for consistent color in the wood, Woodworking Network reported.
Another Colorado furniture maker, Corbin Clay, has incorporated beetle-killed wood and has won US$100,000 in the Ketel One Gentleman’s Call competition in January for his unique designs.
Clay, who has his own furniture shop The Azure Furniture Co., said he would use the money to expand his business and pursue more ambitious projects.
He noted that beetle-killed wood is a bit “trickier to dry” and he treats it like tropical hardwood. Clay added that there are limits to using this type of wood and so the end product has a simple design, likening the beetle-killed wood furniture to Scandinavian design.
“The design is quiet. Beetle kill pine is ‘noisy’ enough,” said Clay, Woodworking Network reported.
The primary source of this article is Woodworking Network, Lincolnshire, Illinois, on June 3, 2013.
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