A second life for fallen trees

I make bowls, plates, candlesticks, and frames from wood that almost didn't make it. Most of what I work with is found or reclaimed — a tree the city took down, a storm-felled limb, an old hardwood a neighbor couldn't keep.

I'm based in Evanston, Illinois, and I turn everything by hand on the lathe, letting the grain lead. A length of walnut might hide a ribbon of figure I won't see until I'm halfway through it; a piece of ash splits the light in a way I couldn't have planned. That surprise is my favorite part of the work.

What I'm after, every time, is something you'll use. Not a piece that sits behind glass, but a bowl that holds the fruit, a plate that holds the bread, a candlestick that gets lit on a regular Tuesday. Wood like this has already lived one long life as a tree. I like the idea of giving it a second one — in your hands, on your table, for years.

Thanks for taking a look,
Erin