Rustic Reasons #1: The Beginning

I love woodworking and I love Nature. Therefore, I have dedicated myself to making rustic furniture and twig crafts. Besides, it’s a tradition in my family; even though I didn’t formally recognize it for my first fifty years.
I grew up around rustic furniture but I didn’t really see it in my youth. My Grandfather, Great Uncles, and their friends made it and used it, neither because they had to nor because they wanted to, but because it was a thrifty and natural thing to do. Need a simple table? Why buy limber? Just go to the woods, gather some twigs, then using common tools and traditional designs, make a table. The end result will be more than just another table. It will combine the beauty of Nature and the ingenuity of the builder.

For me, rustic furniture making combines four basic attributes:

• Utility
• Simplicity
• Honesty
• Discovery

Above all, rustic furniture must have utility. If a rustic chair is not useful as a chair then it is not rustic. The real beauty of rustic furniture is that it serves a real purpose. While primarily a craft, rustic furniture doesn’t necessarily exclude artistic contribution.

Rustic furniture is simple by design. It blends modest materials and available tools, with uncomplicated techniques. Modern power tools are not ruled out, but hand tools prevail. Rustic furniture makers are more high touch than high tech.

Rustic furniture is honest in its construction. There is no need to hide nails, screws, and pegs. After all, they are a part of the design. Modern woodworkers go to great extremes to hide connectors. Whereas, rustic furniture makers celebrate nails, screws, and pegs as a visible part of the creative process.

Lastly, rustic furniture can lead to discovery. Look at rustic furniture, study its construction, and most importantly, use it and you will see Nature revealed. You will learn more about the truth of natural things and gain an insight into your rustic self.

Now you know why I say: “In twigs we trust.”

-- Randy, Rustic Artisan, a family tradition. (No PM's - auto-deleted.) - "I am a seeker, not a follower."