Wood Ring Proposal at a Heart Shaped Lake

Dormae and I began our conversation back in April of this year. David and I worked with Dormae and Brian on her engagement ring and their wedding rings.

It's always been such a pleasure talking with Dormae. We discussed all manner of things; from gardening to cooking to wild life rehabilitation! I want to let Dormae’s words speak for themselves ~ she is not only a lovely and warm person; she also writes beautifully.
And she says such nice things about us and our work. In early June David and I received this email from Dormae (and Brian)

“ It is a beautiful day today. The sun is shining and the birds are singing. Best of all, we received our rings in the mail yesterday (much sooner than we anticipated)! We could hardly contain ourselves as he gingerly opened the package. Then out came the loveliest card with our absolutely stunning rings displayed carefully inside. What a charming way to showcase the rings! It is something we will always treasure.”

(Dormae and Brian’s rings were designed using Black Walnut Wood and Bamboo with inlays of their found Oregon Jade )


“David's artistry, precision, and patience are evident in each TINY ring. We are awed by how beautifully simple and lightweight, yet strong they are. Unlike traditional metal rings, they feel warm and alive; and they fit perfectly, as if they are already a part OF us, not only made FOR us. Neither of us tends to wear any jewellery, but somehow we cannot wait (6 whole weeks!) to wear these rings every single day. :) Our rings arrived just in time for our anniversary. The rings are the perfect gifts to celebrate where we've been, where we are, and where we're going. Thank you for making the start of the next chapter of our life together a happy one. You'll hear from us soon after our engagement and future wedding. It was more than a pleasure to "meet" you, work with you, and connect with you by sharing pictures and exchanging thoughts about sustainability, wildlife, plants, dogs, food, etc. Your values and respect for the earth and it's bounty are reflected in your work and the way in which you treat others. We will love telling people about our wonderful experience with Touch Wood Rings. The world needs more Nicolas and Davids! From the bottom of our hearts, WE THANK YOU!!! Dormae and Brian”

And then in August, we received this happy email . . .


“We just wanted to say hello and let you know that we officially got ENGAGED !! For the better part of a month, we had been planning to take a hiking trip to our favourite spot in the Inyo National Forest in California, just a few miles outside of Yosemite National Park, but things kept coming up. Finally, we packed up the dogs and headed out on our road trip. We headed toward Yosemite, drove through it, and ended a few miles past our destination: Dana Plateau in the Inyo National Forest. Brian and I and the dogs ascended the trail alongside a roaring creek, pausing a few times to take some pictures and to reminisce about the last time we were there. The plan was to explore new spots as well as familiar ones (such as a natural heart-shaped lake Brian found a-ways off the trail last year). At one point, Brian whipped out his GPS and announced that we were at roughly 10,000 feet elevation and that we should go left off of the trail. Feeling that another surprise was coming, I followed. Our first glimpse of the heart-shaped lake that day was as breathtaking as the last. I asked Brian if he wanted to go swimming, but he suggested that we hang out on one of the big rocks in the center of the lake for a few minutes first. When we got there, we stood with our arms around each other and took a few deep breaths of fresh, mountain air while drinking in the brilliant scenery with Dana Mountain looming above us.

The next thing I knew, Brian was kneeling down on the rock, proposing to me with our beautiful Touch Wood Ring! Of course, I said, "YES!" We concluded the weekend with a few more hikes in the surrounding area and unwillingly returned home, a little tired, but happier than we've ever been. Now, we look forward to our wedding day, when we can place our Touch Wood wedding bands on each others fingers, completing the set! We couldn't have done this in such a special way without you both! Thank you from the bottom of our hearts! “

David and I want to thank you too, Dormae and Brian! It’s been a wonderful experience working with you and getting to know you. Please give those dogs of yours some big hugs from us and Shine on dear friends ~ you make the world a better place. As ever, Nicola and David

Wear the Warmth ~ Touch Wood Rings

Every Touch Wood Ring is a collaboration between us (David and I) and you (the individual or couple commissioning a ring).

As always, David and I look forward to working with you to create something very special and very much your own.

We expect you to have questions, we love to hear your ideas and we'll work with you till you're completely satisfied with your decisions. Once we all the details of your design; David searches for the perfect pieces of wood to bring your vision to reality. We want your Touch Wood Ring to sing.

A sampling of commissioned, custom designed and meticulously hand crafted Touch Wood Rings.

Touch Wood Rings ~ at home.
Why we do what we do.

David and I focus most of our energy and resources locally on these 50 acres we call home. We live and work off the grid providing our own power through solar energy. We are committed to preserving the diversity of life here by caring for the land and the water and all the birds and animals who call this place home.

We reach out globally to those we feel we can help in a tangible and direct way; specifically through kiva.org and worldvision.ca. This is Patricia; she lives in Ghana with her Mom and Dad and her little sister. She's our sponsored child through World Vision.

Here's to a brighter, greener future for all life on the planet. And thank you ~ to every person who wears a Touch Wood Ring ~ you are a part of the ongoing work.

Abby and Alex and their Touch Wood Rings

~ Abby and Alex ~
designed classic Hawaiian Koa wood rings. Abby choose a golden toned Koa while Alex choose a darker toned Koa ~ both their rings were lined with a bright Birch wood and inscribed with some special words. We're delighted to share a few of their wedding photos with you and we wish Abby and Alex a joyful future together.

Abby writes: "I've been meaning to write to you for a very long time, to let you know that our wedding was a hit and our rings were very well received. After the ceremony, nearly all the guests wanted to know about them. They continue to be beautiful and to attract comments from friends and from strangers. Thank you again, so very much, for the beautiful rings. Much love to you both and to your happy home in the wilderness, Abby (and Alex)"

Laura and Jeff's Wooden Rings ~ and Adam's lovely wedding photography

Adam George of Embrace Life Photography was kind enough to email us a link to a lovely feature in Eco-beautiful Weddings magazine.

On his blog post San Francisco Green Wedding Featured Adam writes; "We’re excited to share with you Laura and Jeff’s four-page wedding feature in the current fall issue (Pg. 80-83) of Eco-Beautiful Weddings magazine.

Their wedding was a weekend-long affair including 4 separate events for Laura, Jeff, their friends and family to enjoy together. Their vendors were chosen for their environmental friendliness and social responsibility, most notably their choice of wooden wedding rings by Touch Wood Rings."

Congratulations Laura and Jeff. Beautiful photography Adam! Thanks for sharing this with us.

Here are Jeff and Laura's Touch Wood Rings (these are our photos).

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