Ringing in a new year.

We wish all our old friends and our future clients a healthy and happy new year.

Here are some photographs of the final Touch Wood Rings of 2007.
It is with much gratitude and great joy that David and I ring out the old and begin the work of a new year.
Many 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 wood rings you will love.

Take good care of each other and we'll do the same.

A happy ending

A heartwarming email from Mary Lou with a very happy ending! This is the link to the wood ring her story is about. http://warmthofwood.blogspot.com/2007/03/wood-ring-from-orchard.html

The absent minded Professor and the great finish

Hello from Goderich:

I just have to share this story with you, especially now that we have a happy ending. As you might know, my husband John, the wearer of the most loved and admired wood ring, teaches at the University of Western Ontario two days a week. This is an hour and a half drive from our home, making his departure time 6:15 AM.

He is in the habit of having everything ready the night before to ensure a smooth exit in the morning. Clothes are layed out, briefcase is packed and waiting by the door, and said wedding ring is attached to his watch ready to put on after the shower.

This Friday past, John came to me, in tears and said, "Love, I've really screwed up, I've lost my ring." He was absolutely devastated. His recollection of the previous Monday was that, he grabbed his lunch, his coffee, his briefcase and put his watch/ring in his jacket pocket. When he arrived at his office and reached for the ring/watch, it was not there. Thinking that it had fallen out of his pocket on the way, he retraced his steps through the campus, back to his car, made a thorough search of the vehicle and surrounding area and carefully searched the ground all the way back to his office.

No ring.

Speculation sets in...Did I leave it at home? ... Did someone pick it up? ... Will I find it in the lost and found?

This happened on a Monday morning and every morning following, John would awake at 4:52 AM not and not being able to sleep would set about searching every inch of the house, every inch of his car and retracing his steps over and over. Several calls and visits to the lost and found on campus resulted in nothing. I felt that the ring was still in the house, and conducted my own searches, but turned up nothing.

Monday evening, a week since the loss, we went up north to spend the night, and shut down the cottage for the season. We arrived back home about 5:00PM Tuesday afternoon. I opened my car door, prepared to step out, and what was lying on the ground beside the driveway on the neighbours lawn... "Oh my God!" "What is it love?" "Come here."

After the ensuing jubilation of recovering the ring and watch, which had sat on the ground for nine days in the rain and wind, John remarked, "That must be one hell of a good finish on that ring."

Thank you for your fine craftsmanship, and feel free to use this story to promote your wonderful wood rings.

Yours in Goderich and thankfully so.

Wooden Rings and Gentle Souls

Black walnut, birch and ash wood rings for a mid-October wedding.

Juniper heart wood rings with birds eye maple inlaid bands.

Our rings are absolutely beautiful! The colors of the woods look great on my very fair skin as well as my husband’s very dark skin. I know that we will receive many compliments on our unique and beautiful rings!

Black wood, oak and rose wood rings.

"Now I understand all the responses I read on the blog. It really isn't possible to put words to how beautiful and special the rings are! When I touched his ring it was so impossibly light and alive. And elegant!

The joy on his face when he saw the ring was gorgeous. He kept repeating in wonder: "I've never seen anything like this", "I couldn't possibly have imagined something so beautiful" and "this is a living thing". After he'd been wearing it for a couple of hours he said that he felt like it was magic and elven. He loved the design and the lightness of the ring and the way the look of the wood changes in all the different lights throughout the day. And as a woodworker himself, he is so appreciative of David's skill and talent working with the wood in the way that he does. He also loved the card and the ring holders! I told him all about working with you and finally got to show him your website when we got home. :) Oh, and thanks for your advice about going to 11.25 -- the ring fits him just perfectly!

My rings are at once simple and breathtaking. As soon as I held them, I also realized that wearing treasured rings that are durable but need ongoing care is a wonderful metaphor for a committed relationship. Many thanks and much love"

Koa, ash, purpleheart, juniper heart wood and maple wood rings.

Our rings are ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! We LOVE them! We can't thank you enough. Everyone that we have showed them to is fascinated that we have wooden rings. They think it is the coolest thing. (so do we!) We appreciate the loving care David puts into each ring, it makes it so much more special than going to some random jewelry store and picking a run-of-the-mill ring that hundreds of other people have. We wish you continued success and happiness.

Their wooden wedding rings ~ his blackwood with a rose wood band and hers of rose wood with a ecalyptus liner. And her engagement ring ~ created with the same blackwood and koa as his wedding ring.

It was so much smaller than anything I could have imagined. And absolutely beautiful. I loved it immediately and I can't believe how much more I have grown to love it in the space of just two days. The grain in the koa is so incredible, and the colour so rich. I love the beautiful finish, the lightness and feel of it on my finger. It's perfect in every way. Thank you for creating a piece that so aptly represents our love - very unique and incredibly beautiful.

Juniper heart wood rings with birds eye maple liners.

Howdy Nicola and David, We love our rings! Thank you so much for including us in the whole process. The rings are pieces of art we will be proud to wear. We truely appreciate you actively providing a service which helps our environment. Thank you for so beautifully providing the reminders of our love for our partners, family, and everything. We all wish you both the best in your peaceful world.

Dark Koa Wood Ring. Tapered with wide birds eye maple inset band.

"On Friday night we went back to the pier that we got married on and said our vows to each other again and gave each other the rings. It was wonderful and we feel so great about our natural, handmade rings; more meaningful than we could have ever imagined! "

Eucalyptus wood ring with crossed spiraled birds eye maple bands.

She said yes! Just wanted to send you a few pictures of our engagement. Patty loves the ring - it was a perfect choice! Thank you again for all your help and advice, it really paid off!

Koa wood ring with maple liner and crossed spiraled blue spruce bands.
"Wow!" is the closest I can come to descibing the intricate detail and beauty that this ring possesses. The ring looks so nice against his skin tone. I just love it! Working with you guys has been such an amazing experience. I really admire y'alls lifestyles and your positive happy attitudes! It has been such a pleasure."

Oak wood rings ~ hers with a willow band and his with a cedar band.

"Our rings are BEAUTIFUL!!!! Thank you so much, we love them. We are both very happy we decided to stick with the willow and cedar on oak. The willow is like a band of gold on the oak, the different grains and texture provide a wonderful contrast and I feel very happy that it worked out so well. The cedar on the oak is beautiful and not only does its deep reddish brown look lovely against the oak, but the contrasting grains complement each other nicely. We really appreciate the work you put into our rings and the time you spent with us discussing the wood choices. These three woods have a good deal of symbology and personal meaning to us and it means a lot to us that they are incorporated into our wedding bands. Once again, thank you so much."

Juniper heart wood rings with clear maple inset bands.

"We got our rings and they're stunning. Thanks so much to the both of you. Now if only we could duplicate your simple and enriching lifestyle. "

Cherry and Oak wood rings symbolic of ancient Irish and British trees

In June of 2007, Louise and Arran of Ireland designed these lovely cherry wood rings with oak bands. Their rings are 10 and 6mm wide with gentle hidden tapers.
Louise and Arran decided to use cherry and oak because both are ancient native trees to Ireland and Britain, and they liked their symbolic meanings of strength and love.

"We were delighted to discover that as well as being very beautiful the rings have a great warm feel to them - unlike the coldness of metal! Many, many thanks Louise & Arran, Ireland"



Arran & I had a wonderful weddding in August - I have attached some pictures from the registry office - where the ring exchange took place and from a stone circle where we performed a handfasting ceremony. The rings are still fantasic and have darkened considerably since we started wearing them, which makes them even more beautiful . All the best and thanks again. Louise and Arran

Arran having his first pint of Murphys stout as a married man. And with the ring to prove it!

Wood rings of Cherry, Ash and Love

A beautiful couple ~ Matthew and Janelle; and some excerpts from a lovely letter Matt sent us a few weeks ago.

"I will start by saying that life is absolutely grand right now (despite Janelle and I being apart for almost two months now). The rings produced by David and coordinated through yourself are nothing short of amazing! The shine and warmth of the wood is absolutely incredible!

"The rings have become a part of our relationship and our left pinkie fingers. I left for my specialized army training on 6 May and have been able to briefly see Janelle only once since then. It has been tough to be apart, but we use our 'magic' rings as a way to always remember that we are in each other's hearts and minds at all times.

While I sit in church without Janelle, I play with my ring to remind myself of the times that Janelle and I would go to church together and to remember that she is 1500 miles away playing with her ring in church at the very same moment. She always jokes and says that by the time I get back in October the shine will be worn off of hers! I can completely agree her!! They are very durable, however, so I think that they will be okay. We both absolutely love the rings (obviously!!) and would like to say 'Thank you' for all of your help in the process. It means a lot to both of us. There is a lot of work that goes into a couple remaining one in the light of an extended absence from each other, but the rings have helped tremendously!! "

Matthew designed their rings around the meaning of the woods. He choose cherry wood with ash bands. Their inscriptions are the email smiley faces used so often by these two in their extended absences from each other. :)

As a post script, I must say that this wooden ring blog is not so much about the wood rings that David crafts as it is about the people who come into our lives. Good and kind humans, one and all.

Rings on their fingers ....

These lovely rosewood rings were made with inlaid bands of Olivela shell.

Black wood and blue spruce rings

Black wood rings with two spiraled bands of blue spruce and oak.

Wyoming wood rings

A lovely couple from Wyoming designed these blue spruce and hawaiian koa rings with birch liners. They wrote:

" Dear Nicola and David, What a dream come true. Thanks for working with us and crafting such soulful pieces. You made this a meaningful process. Even more lovely is the superior customer service and friendship you have given. These are definitely ours, they fit comfortably and we adore the unique wood. We are both so happy to have rings we get to feel positive about. We'll be in touch, and as always are wishing you the very, very best. Count us as two more lucky and grateful wood clad people."

Thank you!! It is David and I who are grateful. We meet so many wonderful people who become real friends. This is truly joyful work. :)

New friends and their beautiful wood ring design

Many thanks to our dear Irish friends; Breda and Marc for the beautiful wooden rings they designed of Grenadilla with crossed spiraled bands of blue spruce.

Breda wrote: “The first thing that struck me was amazement at how on earth David can create such beautiful pieces of art made of such tiny pieces! I guess you don't fully appreciate that when looking at the photos as the mind is tricked by these larger images. He obviously has gifted - patient - hands. We just love the rings. They are absolutely stunning. They really are works of art, so very, very beautiful. Oh, and they fit perfectly! :-) How light they feel too - it's like a feather touch.

You know, of everything we have chosen so far for the wedding - restaurant, dresses, music etc, this feels the most special. You and David make a wonderful team.”

Wooden Wedding Rings in Costa Rica

"I cannot express to you the absolute joy you brought to us with the rings you made only for us, with the woods that emulated our love. Your handcrafted rings were a vital part of our sacred ceremony in Costa Rica.
I have attached photos to convey how amazing this day was for us, and your part in it.
After we returned, we found the rings to be such a bind between us, knowing that we shared the same trees, the same meaning, and the same spirit that created our rings.
Thank you again for brightening our lives."

Ancient Kauri wood ring with a black wood band

Ancient Kauri wood.

One new story and one very old story.

A lovely couple from Ohio contacted us a few months ago and asked if David would make them rings of Kauri wood. The couple specially ordered the wood from ancientwood.com and had the wood shipped directly to David.

The ring you see here is David's first kauri wood ring; his test ring.

Dusty and Erin's rings will be kauri wood with bird's eye maple liners.

Now for the old story. This Touch Wood Ring is crafted from reclaimed ancient Kauri timber that is aged from 30,ooo to more than 50,ooo years old. Ancient Kauri wood comes from forests buried at the time of the last Ice Age, which are located on the Northern Island of New Zealand. It is called the World's Oldest workable timber. Read The Kauri Story on the Ancientwood website. These points are from their pamphlet.

• The harvesting of Ancient Kauri is a very ecologically friendly practice.
• No standing trees are cut
• These incredible trees are excavated from underground and any disturbed land is carefully restored.
• Every tree grew for more than 1200 years.
• They stopped growing over 50,000 years ago.

This ancient Kauri wood is pretty spectacular stuff and it fills us with a sense of wonder to hold something so very very old.

Bespoke Wooden rings
meticulously hand crafted
in Canada
by David Finch.

Touch Wood Rings