My Myrtle Moment

Some of the woods David works with I just fall in love with. Oregon Myrtle is one of those woods. 

Here are a few examples of Touch Wood Rings incorporating Oregon Myrtle. The horizontal inlay on this juniper heartwood ring is Myrtle. The inlay is a 'full moon' ™  mother of pearl.

The interior liner on this Grenadilla / African Blackwood ring is Myrtle and it's also one of the spiraled inlays.

The single spiraled inlay on this juniper heartwood ring is Myrtle.

Brent and Sarah's Black Walnut rings have inlays of Myrtle wood. Sarah's ring also has a crushed shell inlay.  I'm partial to the wider myrtle inlay on Brent's ring as it lets us see the beautiful cross hatched grain that David coaxed out of the wood.

"These rings are simply amazing! We were just floored by how simple, clean and comfortable they were. They fit perfectly; like an old friend. My (Brent's) ring fits so well with (the unusual shape of my hand), I loved the way David didn't just taper it, but just made a space for my finger. It looks great and feels better. Sarah's looks amazing with her shell and she said its a perfect fit. Both of the rings go on quite easily but fit snug once they are on so there is no danger of them slipping off. Thank you for your amazing work and the love you put into it. We are so happy that we could share this experience with you. Brent and Sarah"

Myrtle has also been called pepperwood, spicebush, cinnamon bush, peppernut tree, headache tree, mountain laurel, and balm of heaven. 

Myrtle grows very slowly. The slow growth produces a close grained and fine textured wood. Oregon Myrtlewood offers a wide variety of beautiful colors and grain patterns.

As with most trees; the color of the wood is often influenced by the minerals in the soil. The colors of Oregon Myrtle range from blond to black with many shades of honey, browns, satiny grays, with reds and greens in between. 

The myrtle plant has long been a symbol of love and an emblem for marriage. It is also believed to be the flower of the gods, being sacred to the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

Myrtle wood is often used as a wedding garland or decorations for the marriage ceremony, and utilized in many wedding rituals.
The myrtle also symbolizes good fortune. It is believed that cultivating a myrtle plant will usher in peace and love to your home. Myrtle is considered a representation for long life, as well as joyful living.

Thanks to the Myrtlewood Gallery and Aunty Flo's website.  And as always, thanks to the awesome people we work with who wear a Touch Wood Ring.  

Touch Wood ~ Across the Pond

Every day we receive emails from people all over the world. Old friends and new. Every day I am touched by the loving, caring people who take the time to write to us; to inquire about a Touch Wood Ring and to tell us about themselves, their lives and their loves. 

They share their stories with David and I and they put their trust in us. It is a humbling thing. 

                                            

Michelle and Tez live in a village in England. There is so much more to their story of course, but briefly; they met in Chester in 2000, they were engaged in 2002 then finally married in December 2016!   And to that we say Congratulations and Much Love!!


Michelle shared with me that "Tez didn't even want a ring as he can't wear one due to his work, and didn't really like rings ~ but when he saw how special Touch Wood Rings were he agreed!! So this was the perfect solution! I discovered Touch Wood Rings when our beautiful friends got two for their wedding and I have ask them to show me their rings every time we meet as I love them so much!"
Below are Michelle's dear friends' rings.  Commissioned in November 2011, Chris and Angela's Touch Wood Rings are English Oak with spiraled inlays of crushed jade.

Michelle and Tez designed their rings incorporating Juniper heartwood, Birds Eye Maple and a mother of pearl inlay for Michelle's ring.  

As David began work on their rings, Michelle and I got to know each other better.  I sent her a pic of our new pup. I admit I am seriously smitten :) It's been six years since we buried our last old pup and David and I were both ready.  Here's the 6 month old addition to our family.

After introducing Kali to Michelle, she invited me to join a small group of friends and their fur babies on Facebook.  I'm really enjoying the group. 

When David completed work on Tez and Michelle's ring we shipped them off across the pond and waited.  In 15 years we've done this thousands of times and we still hold our breath.  

On a Tuesday morning in early December, David and I were in town having breakfast at our favourite diner.  My Messenger dinged.  It was Michelle announcing the arrival of their rings!  She and Tez were home and Michelle shared the opening of the package with us with pics and commentary.  That was So delightful.  To share those moments from half way across the world... David and I were both really touched.

Michelle and Tez were married on the twenty-second of December. Michelle wrote: "The rings have made the wedding! We are overwhelmed with the attention to detail; love; warmth and encouragement from you and David. The whole process from start to end was a really exciting process and brought something truly unique and special to our wedding."

And so ~ here's to the start of a new year, lots of celebrations of love and the beginning of new friendships. Much love to you and Tez, Michelle ~ and to your four legged friends too.

A spur of the moment wedding celebration

Adam commissioned an engagement ring for his beloved Jennifer back in April of this year. When it arrived in the mail Adam wrote to us saying:

I just received Jennifer’s ring. David does amazing work!  Thank you so much.  You guys were so easy to work with and David did a beautiful job.  I can’t wait to give to her!

~ Jen's Touch Wood Engagement ring is Juniper heartwood with Myrtle, Maple and Mother of Pearl ~

On October 5th, Adam wrote:

I meant to contact you months ago but the summer just flew by.  I proposed to Jen and she absolutely loved her ring.  


We were planning on getting married next summer but in a spur of the moment decision we ran off to Banff and got hitched last weekend in a small ceremony with our families.  

We’ve been talking, and were thinking of ordering some wedding rings for next year.  We are not in a rush but were thinking around February-March.

With our spur of the moment wedding we didn’t have any rings so I crafted up some temporary rings the night before – (not quite as nice as David’s work but it did the trick)

We admire Adam's ingenuity and just adore their wedding rings. So sweet ~ and what a great story they have to pass on ...   
Thanks so much to you and Jen, Adam! We loved working with you too and look forward to hearing from you and Jennifer again.  
Much Love and Light to our newlywed friends!  
♥

Quiet reminders

 

~ David and Rebecca ~

Rebecca and I began our conversations back in January of 2013. 

She and her beloved; David expressed an interest in commissioning a pair of wedding rings and asked about our schedule. Their wedding was set for the first weekend in July and they were writing from Indiana. They had some initial ideas involving juniper heartwood and possibly an inlay in one of the rings.

After a few months of most enjoyable correspondence, in April of 2013 (my) David created Rebecca and David's wedding rings.  Rebecca had decided on a single spiraled inlay of Myrtle wood.  For his ring; David was envisioning an irregular knot on Juniper heartwood.

On May 15th we received this email from Rebecca and David.

"We are so delighted to tell you that we received the rings today! Here they are resting up on the instrument shelf.

We have tried them on and we are so so so pleased. They are so elegant and really more beautiful than we could have imagined. 

Now I can't wait to send you images from the big day! We also like the clever folder that you sent them in. We are considering including a "ring warming" in our wedding ceremony, in which the rings are passed among the guest to absorb well-wishes, and this might actually be a perfect way to pass them too.

Thank you for everything, and we will be in touch!"

We had another great email from Rebecca and David in early October 2013 along with some lovely photographs.  (Photo Credit www.photoisforlovers.com)

Rebecca writes:  "We had a beautiful and moving ceremony in July, and the rings were at the center of it! We did the ring warming as I mentioned before, using your card to pass them (secured with a little twine, see below). Here is the text we wrote for that part of the ceremony (read by my aunt and uncle who graciously opened the proceedings):

 

"Later in this ceremony, Rebecca and David will exchange rings. But before they do, we ask that you, their community, take part by blessing the symbols they will wear. As you receive the rings, wish Rebecca and David happiness and a meaningful life together, then pass them on. [Begins passing] David and Rebecca’s rings are made from juniper heartwood. Juniper is known for its remarkable longevity and ability to thrive in challenging places. From today forward, those rings will act as constant, quiet reminders of their love and commitment, and of your hope and support."

Thank you and David for making these things of beauty that we now get to have in our lives every day!"

In May (2014) Rebecca contacted us about sending her ring back  for some TLC and a refinishing after a bit of a mishap  ~ sometimes a ring needs attention sooner than later and we are always happy to help!  

Here's a pic of Becca's refinished ring and she writes:

"Received the ring yesterday. It looks beautiful, as I had no doubt it would!"

Love and Heartwood

We recently had the pleasure of working with Krista and Rob on their wedding rings.


In June, Krista wrote "David does such wonderful work and I am truly excited that we chose these rings for our symbol of love. I was wondering a bit about the tree that gave us this gift. Are the rings from the same branch and where does the tree live... just curious."

Here's my reply to Krista's question about her juniper heartwood.

"I’m glad you want to know about the tree that gave a little of her wood for your rings Krista. She is a Juniper tree and lives in the Similkameen Valley of British Columbia ~ she’s an old tree with beautiful gnarly branches that occasionally require pruning. Hence your ring wood. The term ‘heartwood’ means the wood that comes from the very center of a trunk or branch ~ it is generally denser, stronger and often has beautiful swirly patterns and colours … Here is a 'close up' of the dear old juniper tree from which your rings are made … it grows beside David's brothers' home in the sunny Similkameen.

Krista and Rob received their rings in early June and wrote:

"We couldn't be more pleased. They are absolutely beautiful! I had tears in my eyes when I saw them.

And just the other day Krista wrote:

"You know it's fall when you get the hooded sweatshirts out and go pick blueberries on a foggy moist morning...yummy!! What a great time of year. Our wedding day has come and gone and we were so happy to have our rings on that special day. I wanted to share some photos with you two. Thank you so much again and we couldn't be more pleased with our beautiful rings. We have received many compliments as well. Hope all is well in your part of the world, Robb, Krista and Lennon

What a delightful young family you are ... and what a pleasure it's been to be a part of your special day! With much love, today and always ... Nicola and David