In short, our WHY is to make beautiful furniture and not kill the environment.
When we leave this planet, we hope to leave it better than we found it. By then we’d like to think there will be thousands of people admiring our furniture daily knowing their choice made a difference.
I’ve always collected wasted materials and found better ways to use them. Not just with timber, but with many materials. Once you start to look for waste you’ll see it everywhere and once your mind is trained, it becomes difficult to turn a blind eye.
When it comes to furniture, it’s a no brainer that I choose to use reclaimed timber and practice sustainability through my work to help protect our natural environment. Beyond environmental reasons, old timber has a unique charm and a pre-existing story that new timber simply can’t attain yet. Personally, it’s my preferred choice every time.
In 2022 I realised just how amazing our country was when I rode 16,000kms around it on a motorbike. I rode through every state and territory. I saw it at its absolute best and was fortunate enough to miss all the crazy weather events pre and post trip. Here are a small selection of images from the trip. (Photographer Joseph Ryan)
Camping in nature in South Australia
The Nullarbor - WA
Tuross Head - NSW
Yarragon - Victoria
Esperance Coastline - Western Australia
Lake Argyle - Western Australia
It was during the trip and certainly since I’ve returned that I’ve been reminded time and again just how fragile our environment is. The floods up and down the east coast last year, the recent floods of the Darwin river this year to name just a few events. If we want more of those events, we’ll turn a blind eye and let the issues be someone else’s problem. Or we’ll be the difference by changing our habits and in the case of furniture, choosing reclaimed first.
Not everyone gets to tour around the country for a few months but thankfully there are incredible adventurists, researchers, creatives, photographers and filmmakers that are dedicated to capturing a lot of this for us. I recently went and watched Australian Geographic’s latest immersive short film in Sydney called Our Country which takes you deep into Australia's incredible natural environment.
You can experience Australia at its absolute best, view it from land, waterways, and skies; experience every season, and better appreciate why it’s worth protecting this enormous ecosystem of ours. After seeing this film, you’ll be left in absolute awe of what surrounds us here in Australia and why it's worth protecting.
I encourage everyone to go and see this film - it’s set out in a gallery with 360 degrees of screens and surround sounds that make you feel like you’re right there amongst each scene. You certainly won’t be disappointed.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on it.
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Until next time.