Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Wooden Rings and A New Year

We wish all our old friends and our future clients a healthy and happy new year. To say goodbye to the old year, here are a few photographs of the final Touch Wood Rings of 2008.





































It is with much gratitude and great joy that David and I ring out the old and begin the work of a new year. Our sincere thanks to all the folks we've had the pleasure of getting to know over the past year and we look forward to getting to know many more of you through the next year. We look forward to working with you to create wooden rings you will love.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Some Early Autumn Wooden Rings

Benjamin and Alison's Juniper heart wood wedding rings with birds eye maple liners











and Alison's 4 mm wide Golden koa wood ring with juniper heart wood braided band.

"The rings arrived just in time. Our wedding reception took place at 5pm on Sept 6th and we received your package at noon :). They fit perfectly and they are very comfortable. Especially the braided ring is an exceptional masterpiece. Everyone was just stunned by how small and detailed the rings were made. Thanks again for your amazing work and communication. Our best wishes from Europe, Bejanmin and Alison. "


Rose wood rings with birds eye maple interiors.















Black Walnut wood rings with Hawaiian Koa inlaid bands.












Fall colours on our road to town.














Dark Hawaiian Koa Wood rings with blue spruce inlaid bands.














An autumn sky















Purple heart wood ring with birch interior and Amethyst crystal inlaid band.















Wooden Rings made from Osage Orange







Eucalyptus Wood Ring with Blue Spruce and Zebra Wood inlaid bands.

Monday, September 08, 2008

Wooden rings and Warm hearts.


Our thanks to Nancy and Ruth (two lovely women who were such a pleasure to work with) and they wrote:
"Nicola and David, We followed your directions and wore our rings lightly for several months. Now that we are wearing them regularly we are even more delighted with them. They feel so natural and comfortable on our hands, even though neither of us has worn rings regularly in the past. Our comfort with the rings is also emotional and even spiritual. The ring symbolizes and reminds us of so many connections: to each other, to our vows, to the hands that made the rings and the place they were made, and to the trees that grow the wood. It is amazing and inspiring to be able to have these rings on our fingers everyday. Thank you so much! "


Friday, September 05, 2008

Bamboo wedding rings

Earlier this year, a couple from Florida asked David to make them a set of Bamboo Wedding Rings.

Jessica and Jake said they'd be happy to send David some bamboo to work with.
The bamboo was salvaged by Jake from their local recycling depot (the landscape 'waste' area where people bring all kinds of wood, brush, leaves, etc to be made into mulch.)
As Jessica pointed out "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! " Jake and Jessica's bamboo rings are banded with Hawaiian Koa wood. Jake's ring is about 10 mm wide and is gently tapered to 6mm. Jessica's ring is 4mm wide.
Thanks to Jake and Jessica, David now has a nice supply of this beautiful bamboo!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Summer skies and wooden rings

An August sunset over the meadow where Touch Wood Rings are created.
And, some summer rings ...














A matched set of wooden rings with wide bands of birch bark featuring natural birch bark markings.






Koa wood ring with a mahogany inlaid band. Lined with blue spruce.













Tapered Juniper heartwood rings with spiraled bands of golden koa and birdseye maple.





A Koa wood ring lined with Grenadilla. The crushed stone inlay is lapis lazuli. Lapis (Latin for 'stone') is known as the stone of friendship and truth, and is believed to promote honesty and ease of communication.















Another mid-summer sky over the meadow.












Eucalyptus rings with blue spruce and maple.











A Birdseye maple wood ring with a centered band of Bethlehem Olive wood bordered by two narrow bands of purpleheart wood. On the right; a purpleheart wood ring with a center band of Bethlehem Olive wood and lined with birdseye maple.













"Old friends pass away, new friends appear. It is just like the days. An old day passes, a new day arrives. The important thing is to make it meaningful: a meaningful friend or a meaningful day." Dalai Lama

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Hawaiian Koa Wood Rings

Hawaiian Koa wood is so beautiful. It's different in every kind of light, sometimes golden, sometimes dark but always luminous with a depth of figure and grain that is almost unparalled. The golden toned wood in the purple heartwood set is Hawaiian Koa.














Here is a recent set of Hawaiian Koa Wood rings that David created for a lovely couple in Austin, Texas.






And, a little ring-related story from Alina: "I babysit a 2-year old boy Ethan (who I am training as a botanist). I see him weekly and we have awesome adventures! One day, his mom Julie was helping me pack up the stroller for our walk to the park. I snapped Ethan in to his seat and Julie gasped loudly! I thought for sure I must have caught his fingers in the buckle or something. By the time I realized he was fine and in one piece, Julie had grabbed my hand and was admiring the koa ring in the sunlight. It was an amazing reaction -- one of real awe to make her gasp. Pretty great. Anyway, my compliments to David once again. "




Thursday, April 17, 2008

Wooden rings for an awesome Belgium couple

Last July David made a set of wooden rings for Nicolas and Mélanie of Belgium. Nicolas sent us malachite for Melanie's ring and they chose blackwood and blue spruce for their woods.

Nicolas writes ...
"At last, I send you some pictures of our August 07 wedding and of the rings. We wear our rings with love. They are amazing."
"Our wedding day was amazing. I don't know if you made your Sun dance but it worked. The weather was rainy the day before and the day after, but we had beautiful sunshine on our wedding day. We love our rings. We are proud to have wooden rings, and we are proud that you made them. When I look at my ring, I obviously think of my wife but also of you and your way of life which makes a lot of sense to me. Your home looks like a piece of paradise and we would be happy to visit you if we come to Canada. "
David and I look forward to your visit! Thank you both so much for being so full of love and for sharing that with us.

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Ahhh, the people we meet!

A lovely letter from a lovely couple ~ JoAnn and Ray ~

"Clearly, you and David appreciate what these rings mean to us. Ray and I were both so struck by how beautiful they are!

We are thrilled! The presentation of the rings was a thoughtful "extra".
While we picked the woods used to create them--the artistry and craftsmanship make them the works of art they are.

They are a perfect representation of what we both believe about our relationship....it will stay strong and beautiful if we pay attention and treat it as the very valuable "work" it is. It will get worn as we move through life. But, if we take good care and fix the problems before they get too far gone-- we can enjoy the beauty, strength and "lightness" for the rest of our lives. Many thanks-- it was truely a pleasure. "

Grenadilla and Hawaiian Koa Wood Engagement Ring

Alex designed this Hawaiian Koa wood and Grenadilla ring for the love of his life; Vivianne.

David and Nicola,
Thank you again for the beautiful ring you created for Vivianne. I proposed to her on December 21st and she said yes!! She was totally amazed by all the details and precision of the ring. It was her dreamed engagement ring and she is so thankful. After I proposed, we organized a gathering with our families to celebrate our love.
I want to thank you both for your hard work throughout this process and for being what you are and living what you believe in.

Alex and Vivianne