Sacred Red Cedar, White Pine and Juniper wood rings for Katie and Ian

Katie and I began our conversation in November last year shortly after she and Ian were engaged. She told us that they always try to support local businesses and people who are living and working sustainably. We're so happy they chose to work with us. What an awesome couple!


Katie and Ian gathered branch wood with special meaning to them; Western Red Cedar from the Vancouver Island, and White Pine and Juniper root from Georgian Bay in Ontario.


I know I've said this before but it's a little like being a kid on Christmas morning when David makes the first cuts into a special branch and we get a glimpse at the figure and colours of the wood.
Always, with respect and gratitude to the trees whose branches were shared.  
David made suggestions on which woods would be most beautiful and most durable for their rings. They decided on the Juniper root for the primary wood, the Georgian Bay White Pine for the liners and inlays of their Western Red Cedar.

They were married in September and recently sent us some pics of their celebration :) and this lovely email.

"Here's what we said about the rings during our ceremony. We wanted to highlight their symbolism in our vows, and we also had them passed around among our guests in a "ring warming" ceremony so everyone could place a wish on the rings for us before we put them on. 

The white pine and juniper root symbolize our deep roots in Ontario and our love for our families and friends who live there and for the people and landscape that made us who we are.

The western red cedar symbolizes our choice to continue building our life together on the west coast, our friendships made here and our mutual love of adventure in the mountains.

The juniper root reminds us how relationships can sometimes be prickly, but are also resilient.

The white pine, which leans away from the west because of the wind, reminds us to stand tall and proud, and also that sometimes you need to bend and compromise to be successful in your environment.

The western red cedar reminds us to always keep growing and to have a long life of providing for and nurturing those around us.

We're absolutely loving them! Thanks again! I hope the photos and our words help show our appreciation for all of the hard work you both put into making our rings so special. :)

All the best, Katie and Ian"

~ Wedding photos by @braceyphoto ~

Our congratulations and our thanks to Katie and Ian. 

With dearest love ~ as ever.

Franciscan Tau Cross Wood Ring

We had the pleasure and honour recently of working with Christine on a very special commission. 

We've had wonderful conversations over the course of working together and we shared a lot with each other. 

Christine is getting ready to enter a Franciscan Third Order 
of Seculars. 
She wanted a wooden ring with the Tau Cross ~ as a gift to herself and the last before she takes her vows (one of which is poverty).

David created Christine's Tau ring of Purpleheart wood with inlays of Hawaiian Koa and Cherry. 

It was designed after Christine's only other adornment; her Tau necklace. It's a wooden cross on a cord, with three simple beads signifying her vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

"I just love the ring! And love you and David. Thank you soooooooo much! 

Wasn't it Michelangelo who said he just chipped away around the image? The end result spoke to him, and he listened! I would imagine David "becomes one " with the wood and design.
Nicola, it's odd how intimate this process has been - I bet you hear that a lot! It didn't feel like a business transaction let alone an internet business transaction!

"Love your pictures and your writing, Nicola - and your attention to detail re: marketing, operations, logistics, and hand holding; you are sort of a midwife in the birthing process of creating the rings!! You wear so many hats, so well!"

Thank you so much Christine. It's been a real pleasure working with you and getting to know you. 

Joy and Peace be with you ~ and much love from both of us as you take your vows and enter your Franciscan Order.

Touch Wood Rings, Pear and Inner Peace

Touch Wood Rings for Kait and Josh ~ Pear and Hawaiian Koa

 The symbolism associated with pear trees speaks of prosperity, longevity and inner peace.

Fellow Canadians Kait and Josh first contacted us in March. 

They wanted to use pear wood from a tree that has significance to them and were hoping to incorporate the heartwood and the sapwood in their designs.

David and I often say that cutting a branch of wood makes us feel like kids on Christmas morning. It is always a gift to discover the wood inside a branch and this pear wood was a delightful surprise. The heartwood of Josh and Kait's pear branch was beautiful and the sapwood had real character too. Perfect for their designs.

They chose a rich Hawaiian Koa as the primary wood for their rings with spiraled inlays of their pear heartwood and sapwood and interior liners of the lighter pear sapwood to accommodate their inscriptions.  

When we sent final photographs of their rings, Kait wrote: "We are just blown away! The rings are so beautiful! The pear wood looks great with the koa!! I can't believe we have to wait until our wedding in October to wear them!"

It's August now :) so not too much longer to wait ...

We look forward to some photos from your wedding and we hope you have an exciting and happy few months leading up to your Fall celebration.  Remember to breathe!

Much love, as always

Nicola and David

Touch Wood Rings
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'Touch Wood' is an apropos business name right now

Dear Touch Wood friends and followers,

I want to update you on our wildfire situation here in the Cariboo and throughout the BC interior. We have been getting emails from our Touch Wood friends asking if we are safe and we thank you all so much for your concern!! You are like family to us and this month has been a challenging one so far.

We are working with a few lovely people this month on new commissions but are keeping our workshop and office work to a minimum while we prepare for what might be a life changing event.


Saturday afternoon. Smoke from the Hanceville fire to our south west...

The city of Williams Lake and some surrounding communities are fully evacuated as of Saturday afternoon and we are so sorry for all our friends and neighbours who have had to leave their homes to uncertainty and fear. Our hearts and prayers go out to everyone affected; the evacuees, the firefighters, the people who have already lost homes and livelihoods, not to mention the devastation to the land, the birds and the wildlife.

We've been on evacuation order out here for a full week now but have chosen to stay because we have a very good likelihood of being able to protect our home, our property and our business. And it's not our first rodeo. We didn't evacuate during the 2010 wildfires either and those fires came as close as two km.

'Safety first' has always been our motto!! I think we're in better shape off grid than most people in neighbouring communities; where power is off and services have ground to a halt. We have our own solar power system, backup generator and fuel, satellite internet, good well water, and a cold room fairly well stocked with supplies. We have propane for hot meals until we can use our wood stove again :) A good size creek runs through our place which is a real blessing. And while this is a scary situation, wildfires kind of come with the territory. We will stay till we can’t and we are optimistic we can weather this storm.


Sunday early evening July 16th

For all three of us and the wee pup, the stress is a challenge. It's a good test of our sense of humour, our patience and gentleness with each other ~ our ability to think clearly and to prioritize. We have done and are doing everything we can to preserve this beautiful little corner of the Chilcotin. After a week of a crazy amount of work we are feeling quite safe. There are still things we are doing to make ourselves safer but for the most part it's back to normal for us now ... aside from being prepared to run if need be. We're keeping the hummingbird feeders filled (at least until the sugar runs out), staying vigilant, knowing our escape routes and counting our blessings.

You are welcome to follow our public posts on my personal Facebook page. David has been doing an awesome job of recording and sharing our fire protection efforts at the end of each day. https://www.facebook.com/nkwala.jean

And as always, thanks for dropping by! Our love to you and your families! Stay safe and take care of each other. We'll do the same.

Touch Wood :)