Hello all! Happy solstice from mid-coastal Maine. I’m working at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship this summer, doing part time facilities work and part time independent work.

I wanted to share that I have a new batch of items in my online shop - many of them are from the large diameter cherry log I acquired this spring. The scale of the tree allowed me to make plates and trays that will have minimal movement overtime because they’re from quartersawn and riftsawn sections (sections where the grain is relatively perpendicular to the blank & parallel to one another and therefore less likely to warp).

I was able to make over 50 plates with it, multiple trays, and am now I’m doing a production run of baby rattles with the remaining material. It’s incredible what can be created from a single 8’ log.

8-7/8” cherry dinner plates, there are 5 pairs left!

I eat all of my meals from what I like to call a ‘plate bowl’ and I have a new pair of those for sale as well.

It’s finally sunny and hot here so I have to process my logs quickly before they crack to much or rot! I have more paper birch and cherry in store.

Thanks for reading & happy summer to you!

Processing the remainder of the 22” diameter cherry log into blanks for plates, trays, rattles and more.

A cherry wagata-bon tray. Inspired by the Japanese tray making tradition unique to Wagata, Ishikawa-ken.