For more than 20 years, Belgium-based Ethnicrafthas used time-honored materials primarily oak, teak, and walnut—to create furniture that is anything but old-fashioned. Here are a few reasons we, as well as numerous tastemakers, love its products.
The designs exemplify the elegance of simplicity.
You won’t find extraneous details in any of its designs. But that doesn’t mean its pieces are plain or anonymous. The Torsion Dining Table, for instance, is a round table and a round base, attached by a slender pedestal. But the pedestal has been artfully carved to resemble a helix, making the piece sculptural as well as functional and differentiating it from other pedestal tables.
The pieces showcase the natural beauty of wood.
Because the designs are so simple and well edited, the grain and tones of the wood become a focal point. As well they should; after all, when it comes to beauty, it’s difficult to improve upon Mother Nature.
The furniture complements just about every decor style.
The streamlined silhouettes fit right in with modern design, but the warmth of the wood enables the pieces to complement traditional furnishings as well. In fact, what better way to draw attention to, say, the beautifully crafted Balsam bed from 3oak Handcrafted than by flanking it with the minimalist Walnut Spindle bench or a pair of Mikado night stands—little more than an impossibly smooth oak plank atop a prism of solid oak legs?
The company is committed to sustainability.
Except for the wood reclaimed from old buildings, the timber used in Ethnicraft’s furniture comes from FSC-certified or sustainably managed forests. Offcuts—the wood left over from planks being cut to size—are recycled. Even sawdust is saved and used to fuel the ovens that dry the timber or for pallets.
So much heart and talent is poured into each handmade item we sell. We wish everyone could see the excitement and pride on the faces of our local makers and artists when they deliver their imaginative creations to the gallery. It’s even better when a customer is in the store to add to our loud oooohhs and ahhhhs. We’re also pretty thrilled and noisy when we open packages from our other small-shop vendors, who send us their creative goodness from Denmark, Belgium, Morocco, Colorado, California or nearby towns in North Carolina. It’s kind of Christmas every day at 3oak.
The Pussy Willow or “Salix Discolor” to use its proper botanical genus, is easily overlooked for its lack of showy colors, petals and fragrance, nevertheless it has its briefest of moment in the pale spring light just as winter recedes when it distinguishes itself as the earliest flower of spring, announcing the seasonal return of natural bounties with tiny fur-covered buds along its willow-long, sculptural stems.
It's the most wonderful time of the year! Whether it's a gift for someone you know or yourself (yes, you deserve it) these goodies are sure steal the spotlight this holiday season. Here are some exciting handmade items that we have picked out from shop, and why we love them:
