Acorn Wood Shop Hand-carved Spoons

Each spoon that Julia Swyers creates has a personality all its own. Her love for wood is present in the organic shapes and elegant simplicity of each piece. Each object she makes comes from wood that she has diverted from the waste stream. As she puts it, “When I hear chainsaws and wood chippers, my ears perk up.”

Julia is an artisan wood carver located in the Hudson Valley, and part of a network of woodworkers who all share wood and have relationships with local tree service companies. They often get logs delivered to their driveways and can share them with the group. “I have found some great cherry and yew logs on the side of the road, set out for yard waste,” she says. Some of the wood she uses comes from discarded pieces from the furniture making process. It would otherwise be thrown out, but she has found a way to give it a second life.

Julia carves the spoons while the wood is still wet. In the case of the bowls and other items, she uses a lathe. In her Etsy store, Acorn Wood Store, she sells one-of-a-kind spoons, bowls, vases, honey-dippers, and the occasional magic wand.

Purchasing items made of reclaimed wood is a good way to help prevent climate change.

 

DID YOU KNOW
While we often read about recycling wood, it can mean turning it into chips and burning it at power stations. This can involve the waste timber being processed and shipped long distances. Much of our waste wood is reusable, high-quality wood that shouldn’t be thrown away. Community Wood Recycling diverts as much wood as possible from the waste stream to reusable projects.

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