Kinship and Wooden Rings

Linda and Al  ... Designed beautiful rings of Hawaiian Koa and Birch and incorporated inlays of sand from a spot that has special significance to them.  David made their rings in February this year.

In one of our early conversations Linda wrote "We had to dig thru some fairly deep snow to get to the sand and not to mention that the area where we pulled the sand was the site of a military operation underway in Yellowknife so we had to deal with security as well! LOL The easy part (was) mailing it out to you."  

Linda and Al
Married April 2012 in Tofino.

 

"Just when we couldn't believe how beautiful the photos of our rings were, they arrived at our doorstep!  We are truly overwhelmed with our beautifully crafted rings.   Throughout the process you made us feel like we were sitting at your kitchen table, sharing a cup of coffee, watching the birds while David crafted perfection into our wedding rings."

"Nicola and David we are unsure what lead us to you, after all we live in the diamond capital of Canada and our area has a strong history of gold mining.  Initially, I do think Al was surprised (or relieved!!) that I didn't want a diamond, the rings you have crafted for us feel exactly right for who we are and what our marriage will mean to us.  We are grateful that we were lead to you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

Linda, from our first emails I felt like I was talking with an old friend.  
It's great to have met you and Al and it was lovely working with you.  Take care of each other and thanks for coming into our lives.

Riley and Tucker, Sugar Maple and spring

 

It's April.  We were working with a couple of women who live in Ithaca New York ~ and love it there.  They sent us a photo of their pups; Riley and Tucker. 
I was sending spring bird pics. 

Erica wrote "As far as our spring bird watching, the finches have finally arrived.  In the spring, once they leave my aunt in Florida, she calls my mother in South Carolina.  As soon as my mom sees these fast travelers, I know to expect them here shortly.  
Family bonding!"   

Sharing moments and thinking creatively with people is a lot of what I do.  Old fashioned letter writing really ~ only back and forth in the blink of an internet eye ~ we chat about rings and different woods. We talk about trees and horses and dogs and dreams of where we want to be in 20 years.  We talk about our gardens and what makes our hearts sing...

  

In April, the Purple Finches were here in droves; they are bright little giggles of colour before the grass turns green. 

 

It's June now and another letter has just arrived from Katie and Erica.

They have put on their Touch Wood Rings. 

They are formally engaged

and crazy in love.

If all the stars align they will marry this fall.

Blossoms on you both.

A kinder gentler way

A special shell, a bit sea glass and a touch of granite inlaid and offset on a black walnut wood ring for his beloved...

“Nicola, It is very important to me and the special woman in my life to stick to our principles, no gold, and no diamonds. My girlfriend did humanitarian work in various parts of Africa and saw firsthand how the gold and diamond mining industry essentially enslaves and destroys people. Currently she is a Social Scientist for a wildlife organization leading programs to aid sustainability of natural resources in the Congo.

 
If more people only knew the truth.  That is why it is so very important to me to have a Touch Wood Ring for her. Not only are they beautiful but I believe in what you and David are doing and I thank you for doing it.”  Jeremy.  Washington DC

Touch Wood Rings enjoying life in Kenya

Last August we worked with Pete and Radhika ~ a wonderful couple making the world a brighter place.  

We hadn't spoken since September and it's always so nice to hear back from folks after a space of time ~ like a knock on the door from dear friends we haven't seen in awhile.  (thanks Radhi)

Radhika writes;  

Dear Nicola,
I've been meaning to write and send pictures for a long time now. Better late than never I suppose!  We love the rings. So does my huge Indian family! Thank you so so much to you and David! The first [picture is] taken in Wundanyi, Kenya. That's where we live and work. Since we get muddy, wet and dirty all the time (doing fieldwork!) we don't wear the rings everyday but only on special occasions! We do wear them all the time in the cities. The second picture is of the Indian wedding ceremony we had with my whole family in India this December.  Thank you once again.
Regards,  Radhika and Pete 

Fallingwater and Wooden Rings

David and I had the absolute pleasure of working with Miranda and Paul this past summer.   They commissioned Black walnut and Pink Ivory wood rings which David created in July.

After meeting the deadline of getting their wedding invitations out : ) Miranda wrote,  "I picked our rings up from the post office on Saturday.   We absolutely love them!! They are so intricate and you can just see that they were made with such care.

We are so happy with them and will take great care of them. Once we wear them in October we will send some pictures your way. We are so excited to show them off to everyone! Thank you so much for making such beautiful rings and being great people. Your communications and advice through the whole process had us very much at ease.    
 

Paul and Miranda were happily married October 15th 2011.

 

"It's been a busy few months! I have wedding pictures though and wanted to send a few along. We are enjoying our beautiful rings every day and continue to get complements on them. It made the day extra special to know our rings were made with such love and care and are so personal for us. Our reception was held at the Barn at Fallingwater at Western Pennsylvania Nature Conservancy's Bear Run Preserve. The flowers at the reception were local wildflowers from the preserve, and 
I just loved the picture our photographer took with the rings and the flowers. They go very well together. :)  

Paul crafted us both beautiful leather cord necklaces that we often wear them on when working with our hands in the lab or field. 

Thank you again for making such lovely rings and making the whole process a great experience with your friendly emails and beautiful pictures. "

Thanks Miranda, thanks Paul. We wish you tremendous happiness, now and in the future.

A simple, classic Touch Wood Ring

Paul (from across the pond in Guernsey) was initially interested in a Hawaiian Koa wood ring but decided instead to commission David to create a classic Touch Wood Ring of black walnut wood.

One of his favorite trees, as it turns out, is the oldest black walnut tree in England.  

Of his finished ring Paul had this to say; "How wonderful!  As Michel Roux says, "The simpler a dish the more the chefs skill is on display".  It is exactly what I had pictured in my mind! Literally perfect. :)

Thanks Paul !

A Wedding Tree and Wooden Rings

In July of 2011 we received this lovely (and sad) email from a young couple in Texas.

Dear Nicola and David

My name is Kristin.  My husband Dan and I are admirers of your work.

 We feel in love and planned our future together during hikes in the northern Minnesotan woods.  As we were planning our wedding on my family's farm, we decided to commemorate our day by planting a tree (an Amur Chokecherry, Prunis maackii).

  Each year on our anniversary, we have returned to our tree to plant flowers at its feet and celebrate.  It has been such a beautiful metaphor for our lives.  As our love has continued to deepen and grow through our three years of marriage, our tree has blossomed and matured.  

We looked forward to the day when we could bring our future children to the very place where we pledged to love each other for the rest of our lives.  We also hoped to harvest a limb on our fifth or tenth anniversary and have wooden rings made.

 

There is always a danger in tying so much symbolism into a living thing.  Nature has been unkind to Northern Minnesota this year.  After a very hard winter, we have been overwhelmed with rain all summer.  Unfortunately, the water table has risen to a point where our beloved tree is now struggling to survive.  We are heartbroken.

I realize this may be impossible, but we wanted to ask if it may still be possible to have rings made from our tree.  Our tree is still quite small, with a diameter of 3" at the base and maybe 1.5" at the top.

We could harvest or temper the wood any way you need.  We would be forever grateful if you would consider making our rings.  This tree means so much to us.  

Sincerely,

 Dan and Kristin 

David and I were honored and delighted to work with Dan and Kristin creating a special set of wooden rings from their chokecherry wedding tree.  The small size of their tree was not an issue fortunately.  In fact David has worked with much smaller branches and bits of wood that he has incorporated into a ring  when there was not enough material to craft the whole ring from the clients wood. After some months of conversations and decision making, harvesting and delivering their beloved piece of wood, drying and preparing the chokecherry; David created Kristin and Dan's rings this January. 

And we received this lovely email from Dan and Kristen once they had their rings in hand.

Nicola and David

 

I didn't believe it was possible -- they are even more beautiful in person.  David, you have a truly special gift.  The detail work is just breathtaking.  All of the love and energy you poured into these rings over the past weeks shines through.  Thank you so much for taking the extra effort to incorporate the wood from our beloved wedding tree.

We will cherish these rings for the rest of our lives.

Much love, Dan and Kristen

  

A wee wooden ring and Wandering in the Fells

David and I are humbled by the people we meet through our work.  Good people; people who are in love, thoughtful people who care deeply and who are actively making the world a better place.  

It just doesn't get any better than this ...

It never ceases to amaze us that from our remote homestead in the Cariboo Chilcotin of British Columbia we can come to know so many wonderful people from all over the planet.  

New friends who come into our lives solely because of their desire for a wooden ring. .  .

Enter Jonathan and Jessie. 

It was late September or early October of 2010 when we first began our friendship with this couple.  In November last year David began work on Jonathan's rosewood ring for his beloved.  They were married in the UK in early March 2011. 

After their celebrations Jonathan wrote: ". . .  Everything was a huge success and all is grand after a week of recovery. I can't thank-you enough for the lovely work on the ring. Jessie wept...really!  I hadn't let her see or try the ring before the ceremony so she was so moved by the entire event made all the better by your amazing ring. Thank-you again and again for being a very important part of our special day. I couldn't have hoped
for a better sequence of events from start to finish and your ring was and will remain a daily reminder of an amazing weekend in our lives.  Please stay in touch :):):) and continued success.  Cheers,  Jonathan and Jessie

 

Ahh, the photographs... Jessie looking so classic and beautiful and Jonathan in his handsome kilted attire.  The two of them, the vehicles (which caught David’s eye) and the scenery; a joy to behold!  For myself who has not yet traveled abroad; these scenes are like stepping into an historical novel.  

"The outdoor ceremony was exactly what we wanted and so many people who attended said they loved the connection with the outdoors. You mentioned David has a love of old cars; so I think he will like this one.  This was our car for the Saturday. It's a 1939 French 2CV Cittron and the pic is from the village hall where we had the reception. The view is down the meadows towards the fells/hills. This area is awesome in that people have been living in these fells for over 8000 years with standing stones circles etc all over the place. It's not the Rockies, but it has it's own charm and the great thing is that every fell is "walk-able". We're out in the hills as often as time allows and we're never happier than when we're tramping across empty hill tops."

"Life is absolutely grand and Jess and I are settling nicely into a wonderful full time love affair. She adores her ring by the way and loads of interest in it. Hard to believe it's been almost a year since we started the process but here we are. I hope all is well in paradise. Life here is amazing and getting better all the time.
We have moved into a lovely 1690s cottage in a sweet little village where horses still clip clop past the door and the milk is delivered in cute little glass bottles...

Yes ...

Our days are filled with wonder ~ 
We are surrounded by the beauty of the natural world, thankful for today's technology which allows us to do what we do where we do it, and we are wrapped in the warmth of the good people who wear these little wooden bands called Touch Wood Rings. 

It is indeed a good life.  Thanks for visiting.

A man and his wooden ring . . .

We recently received this lovely email from Mitch (Thanks, Mitch!)

(March 2nd 2012) "I just wanted to say thank you so much for building/creating my ring. My wife, Dana ordered my ring last summer and it turned out awesome. You guys knocked it out of the park. I have told so many people around Atlanta Georgia and the southeastern United States about you guys.  It is beautiful. I have attached a picture of us at our wedding and again thank you so much. Mitch and Dana"

 

Touch Wood Rings. Koa, Birds Eye Maple and Willow wood ring

In May 2011 for their November wedding; Dana designed and commissioned a ring for her then fiance Mitch.  

Dana had explained that Mitch wanted a visible wood grain, and that Koa seemed to showcase that well. For the inlay she really like the maple because it offered the greatest contrast between light and dark. For the interior wood she chose Willow. "All of these woods" Dana wrote; "really describe my fiancé perfectly! " 

Dana was such a pleasure to work and chat with...  Thanks so much Dana and Mitch!  We wish you both tremendous happiness; now and in the future.

Tying the knot with a wooden ring

Great photo!! Thanks you guys! Tom and Natalie; a lovely couple from Chugiak Alaska who tied the knot in Costa Rica over the New Year holiday.  

"Thank you for the beautiful ring. It is everything that we had hoped for and we are thankful for such a well crafted symbol of our love. As you might have read, our winter has been legendary! I hope you are both benefiting from the snow and cold as we are. Cheers, Tom and Natalie"