Local urban salvaged trees and timbers are at the centre of this approach. I call it Modern Reclamation – utilizing, preserving and honoring these resources so that their value is not lost solely because their prior existence in this life has changed. Taking what has fallen and giving it another life compels me to continue what has been a time-honored tradition within the craft; albeit, one for which modern society has very little need. Nonetheless, for me, it has been a deeply personal, moral choice in the methodology of this work since I saved my first urban tree in 2007.
Much like the ‘farm-to-table’ movement, which for decades has been sharing the benefits of eating locally and knowing ‘from whom and from where’ our food has come, I would similarly hope for us to once again know the ‘from whom and from where’ for the table we set that food upon. I am passionate about leaving objects behind that not only have their own creation stories, but whose materials have origin stories as well.
While all of my work incorporates the principles of Modern Reclamation here is a recent reflection on my latest commission.
This piece was born from trees which once stood hundreds of years ago. They were felled and hand hewn into timbers by axe and hand, blood and sweat, by men and women who rose before dawn with reverence and purpose. In a time when necessity dictated deeds not desires. And a need would bring a community together to raise a barn which would serve a family for generations.
This is the story of these timbers, but as with most things of this world, a time came when they were no longer needed in this way. So they were thoughtfully disassembled and rescued by one inspired man. He preserved them until their potential could be realized once again. Seasons came, years passed, and serendipitously our paths crossed. Sometimes life works out just like you want it to, right when you need it to.
On a blustery cold Wisconsin winter morning in knee high snow, armed with a sense of humor and determination we pulled the necessary material from a much larger sea of beams.
Before they entered my shop it took countless hours with hammer and chisel, torch and brush to free all the layers of ice and frozen mud that clung to them.
They were then loaded into my kiln to acclimate until their internal temperatures naturally rose to match my shop’s. From there they spent many weeks in a slow drying cycle and ultimately a heat sterilization. This was when I built the steel frame which is made up of 5 separate knockdown components all locked together with tapped mortise and tenon joints.
Once the beams were ready to be worked I resawed them with my Alaskan chainsaw mill. It took some craft sorcery to stabilize andkvc assure their lasting fun , but diligence always helps manifest such results. We do what we must! In this instance the “must” was a plethora of shouldered sliding dovetail battens. Along with all kinds of other “musts” that added up to 300 project hours.
The character this piece exudes was brought to life directly through the process and intention of Modern Reclamation. These beams have now been raised once again to serve and to provide generational value, all while carrying forward a unique narrative legacy intertwined in both the modern and the past.
Urban wood has a story, these trees once stood in our yards and our communities. The UrbanWood Collective (UWC) is the brainchild of Joseph La Macchia and was founded in 2010.
Joseph has been salvaging materials since the mid 90‘s when he built his first piece of furniture, a queen sized headboard from old kiwi crates.
As Joseph’s focus
Urban wood has a story, these trees once stood in our yards and our communities. The UrbanWood Collective (UWC) is the brainchild of Joseph La Macchia and was founded in 2010.
Joseph has been salvaging materials since the mid 90‘s when he built his first piece of furniture, a queen sized headboard from old kiwi crates.
As Joseph’s focus in furniture grew so did his desire to use materials that had origin stories. He wanted to meld both his passion of saving things and making things, into a mutually beneficial relationship.
A chance encounter and discussion with a local arborist turned into the idea of saving these often wasted urban trees from the landfill. The next day Joseph saved his first urban tree, a 150 plus year old claro walnut from Berkeley, CA back in 2007. That was the moment when the UWC was born and Joseph's advocay for Urban wood took root.
Modern Reclamation isn't just about saving lost trees, it's also about salvaging other resources like old growth building materials, timbers, steel, and such things that can be thoughtfully applied to the studio furniture makers lens.
If you have material you'd like to donate and save from ending up in a landfill don't hesitate to shoot us an email.
Part of the Modern Reclamation process is having the equipment and relationships in place to act when a worthy tree is brought down by a storm or a myriad of other reasons outside of harvesting a tree purely for profit.
Joseph runs a Stihl MS880 on an alaskan mill with various sized bars to tackle these felled trees and save this materia
Part of the Modern Reclamation process is having the equipment and relationships in place to act when a worthy tree is brought down by a storm or a myriad of other reasons outside of harvesting a tree purely for profit.
Joseph runs a Stihl MS880 on an alaskan mill with various sized bars to tackle these felled trees and save this material. After milled the slabs are stacked and stickered to air dry for a period of time. Then he finishes off the drying process in a kiln where it is also sterilized.
In some instances he literally takes a project from where the tree originally stood, to a finished project with his own two hands.
If you have a tree that has come down or know it has to in the future please reach out. If you're curious what size tree is worth saving Joseph most often tells people to throw their arms around the trunk and if you can't touch one hand to the other then it's worth contacting him to explore it in more detail.
People always want to know what their tree is worth. Many have heard stories of how "walnut" is worth its weight in gold. The truth is urban logs hold very little value until their potential is realized and that comes from urban sawyers assuming great risk, time, and financial investment to do so. Think of it like this, if urban logs truly had value wouldn't every tree company turn them into lumber instead of firewood or mulch, or certainly it would prevent them from sending trees to landfills, or left to decompose in a tree yard, right?
I have yet to purchase a log and don’t plan to anytime soon. Material is easy to come by, but sawing, transporting, drying and creating a useable resource in the end is what is difficult and that is where the value is ultimately realized.
I do not trade material for finished work, nor do I create new work in exchange for material. Saving urban trees is a lot like furniture making, no one does it to get rich. I save trees because I'm passionate about utilizing the resource and giving it a second chance at life. Please read the "Does my tree have value" FAQ for greater context. If you'd like to create a legacy piece from your tree you will have to commission me to mill and dry the lumber which is a 2-3 year commitment. Then design and build a piece. This is both a significant time and financial investment. If this too much for you to consider it doesn't mean your tree cannot be saved.
No, I only save material after you have had the tree properly felled. I'm always available for a consultation with the arborist to discuss a salvage plan before the tree is brought down.
There are a few factors to assess before reaching out to determine if the tree's viable for lumber.
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