Before it was yours
Abbotsford maple bowl
Bigleaf Maple
Abbotsford Maple
A backyard maple in Abbotsford came down about a decade ago. The owner cut it up and stacked it, not quite ready to let it go - the way people do with good wood when they don't know what they'll do with it yet. It sat there until it came to me. It must have been a remarkable old tree. The blocks came out with everything - deep figure in one cut, clean straight grain in the next, spalting running through others in dark branching lines. Sometimes all three in a single blank. A tree that grew long enough to become interesting in ways you can't predict until the saw goes in.
Maple bowl blank
Shaped and hollowed
Abbotsford maple bowl
The figuring in this maple was hidden inside a block from an old Abbotsford backyard tree. Turning opened up the grain as I shaped the outside, formed the foot, and hollowed the bowl. I finished it with linseed oil and beeswax to bring out the character of the wood. Completed on 18 October 2026.
Looking after it
A wipe with a damp cloth, never the dishwasher, and a little food-safe oil when the wood looks dry. Don't overthink it - wood is hardy and resilient, and everything I make is meant to be used.