Thursday 30 October 2014

Surf meets woodwork, meets art.

The Triton blog has been showcasing exceptional individuals we would describe as ‘Masters of Wood’ for some time now. Our latest Master is Patrick Burnett from Kommetjie near Cape Town, South Africa. Patrick has a love of the sea and surfing, and he has combined that with a passion for working with wood – designing and hand-crafting stunning hollow wood surfboards. We visited Patrick to find out more about his work and the drive behind his creative process.



For those interested in learning more about Patrick’s work, his approach to sustainable craft, and details of how to book a course where you can make your own board, please see his website: www.burnettwoodsurfboards.co.za

Monday 27 October 2014

Working with Wood festival, Knysna



Our Triton team recently visited South Africa to meet woodworkers and gather information to share on the Triton blog. We met some interesting and talented woodworkers, from an independent craftsman making beautiful wooden surfboards, to a modern factory reproducing traditional designs. We will share their stories with you over the next few weeks.

This is the first of our stories from Knysna, a traditional timber and woodworking town situated on the coast in Western Cape at the foot of South Africa.  Knysna originally developed as a timber town to support the growing colony in Cape Town,  and the ‘Working with Wood Festival’ was organised in support of the Knysna Timber Initiative (KTI), a non-profit association of stakeholders in the timber industry, including local government. The festival is held at Timber Village, an extraordinary woodyard and craft centre and a real melting pot of information and ideas for woodworkers.  We will take you on a tour round the Timber Village in more detail in another post.

In addition to the main site, festival visitors were also able to visit local timber factories in Knysna and surrounding areas to see how local wood products are made, and to buy locally manufactured items.  All aspects of timber production was on show - from young tree seedlings, timber harvesting and milling technology, to fine furniture and craft products - all made by local individuals or businesses.  The Working with Wood Festival hopes to inspire and grow interest in the town’s heritage, and to spread the word that specialist knowledge and skills both in forestry and fine timber production are still flourishing in Knysna today..

Fine design and craftsmanship from Fechters on display
Traditional skills from Timber village



Tuesday 14 October 2014

Best of the Woodworking Web - Brass Tacks

Sorry we've been a bit quiet on the blog front recently, but we've been busy helping the team in South Africa with a couple of fantastic woodworking shows (more to come on those soon!).

Today we're bringing you a great video featuring the team at Brass Tacks, a furniture design company who use reclaimed bits of wood and craft them into beautiful pieces of furniture. Kevin and his team enjoy using only their hands and a select number of tools to carry out these incredible transformations:

"Picking out the lumber is my favourite thing that I do, just because it's the beginning of something that's going to end up really beautiful. We really put care and love into it, and it turns into something that was completely the opposite of what it started out as, and that's just what we get so excited about - the transformation."


Credit: Brass Tacks - Kansas City from Summer House Films on Vimeo.

If you've come across any interesting videos like the above, we'd love to see them! Just leave us a comment below.