Sweet Gum Co

Charred red oak.

At the beginning of the year when things were slow, I started experimenting with a blow torch. The first set of these did not turn out well; I don't think you're actually supposed to set the pieces on fire! These turned out much better, and I've got another set almost ready to burn.

Since July I've been struggling with dry eyes, and looking at screens makes it a lot worse. I've not heard not looking at screens touted as a good social media strategy, but fortunately I had a lot of work lined up that didn't involve screens. Now that the eyes are a bit better I'm back working at getting new pieces, including these, up in the shop.

Large eating spoons in black walnut.

Ring bowls or pinch bowls in black walnut crotchwood.

These were small pieces that had been kicking around the shop for several years that were too pretty to throw away. Crotchwood is the area right beneath where a branch splits off where the grain gets really wavy and twisted. That makes it difficult to carve but is also what makes the interesting patterns that glitter as it reflects light unevenly. Smaller pieces often have cracks as it can't dry consistently either.

I think my favorite is the long, narrow one, which was also the most problematic. A wormhole appeared in the side of my first attempt, and I had to plane it down (why it's so shallow) and resort to an entirely different shape. I still couldn't entirely avoid the wormhole (visible in the last photo), but at least now it doesn't go all the way through.

I've added a new, large cooking spoon to my kitchen and will have them up on my website in a few minutes as well. These are in black walnut, and I've made both right and ledt-handed versions. It definitely has a different feel if the curved handle points up or down, but I'm not ambidextrous and like them both. I probably overthought that part of it! These will be on sale through the end of May.

Spalted hackberry. Large kitchen scoop.

Kitchen scoops in black walnut and curly maple, the first few pieces coming together for the next shop update.

A few spoons headed to Chicago.

I took a bit of a break to experiment with things, and a couple of the experiments actually turned out well. A few others got burned. Then I got busy with these. They are in black walnut in two sizes with both left and right-handed versions.

Ring bowls in sweetgum.

I've carved quite a few ring bowls at this point, but so far as I know, none of them has ever held a ring. These won't. They're headed to where they will hold other things. The third photo is one of theirs of one of the previous batch of bowls (though walnut) holding not-rings.

I've been working with Smyth since before they opened, and last month they received their third Michelin star, making them one of 144 in the world. I'm really happy and excited for them, and grateful they keep asking me to carve pieces for them.

Ring bowls in sweetgum.

What I love about working with sweetgum wood is the variation in the color patterns. The outer part, the sapwood, is plain blond, but the heartwood, in color and patterns, contains multitudes: green, brown, black, sometimes orange and red, and a couple of these (not shown here) even have a silver streak.

These 5 all came from one short board about 16" long. The light in the second photo isn't as pretty but shows the color patterns more clearly. The light in the last two is horrible, florescent shop lights, but shows the bowls still uncut from the original board, in the same configuration, and just how close to each other these very different patterns actually were.

Honey dippers, with a cherry one this time. These and a few other new pieces are now up on the website.

I got sick over Thanksgiving and sort of missed the whole thing. Very poor timing, but I'm finally catching up. This time of year moves a bit too fast for me. Why can't January move as quickly as December?

I've been stocking up on cooking spoons and currently have them on sale. I've also put all three of these pieces in a package at a significantly reduced price.

These are the pieces I keep in my own kitchen, use every day, and wouldn't be without. If you haven't tried them yet, they're the pieces I'd most strongly recommend.

A pair of large scoops, 8.5 in long, in black walnut and curly or tiger maple.

I had to photograph these several times in different light to get the tiger stripes on the maple to show. In the second photo they're not visible at all. Those stripes aren't differences in the color of the wood, but rather a wave pattern in the grain that reflects light differently. The wave pattern is also more difficult to carve as you can't cut consistently with the grain.

These are now up in the shop.

Part of a new collection of pieces up on the website.

I've been editing and uploading photos to where I can't see or think straight, so I'm sure there are a number of typos. I'll give a 10% discount to the first person who finds one and dms me with it!

Black walnut. Shells.

has long used these as chopstick rests, though this is the first batch I've made. To get the bottoms flat I made a jig so I could cut them on the bandsaw. That worked really well on the first few and I was really proud of my ingenuity in designing the jig. Then I ran into a number of them that rocked slightly in the jig. When that happened, the blade would catch and the nuts would pop out at what seemed like 100 mph, and I found myself dodging walnut missiles. By the time I'd finished, my pride was gone and I was a bit shaken.

I thought I was familiar with all the dangers of wood shops. Flying walnuts is a new one.

🍁 and black walnut, part 2. This one will be up on the website with a few other new pieces on Friday.

An old friend asked me to make her a coffee scoop from 🍁 and black walnut. As her deadline wasn't immanent, I thought maybe I'd do a short series, with this as the first. Maybe a bit dramatic, ya think?

Large scoop in sweetgum.

For the shape of the handle I followed the black lines in the wood, though since the handle is at an angle, the lines moved as I carved it down. I like the shape, though that feels a little like cheating. Is that cheating?

This is also one of the larger scoops like this I've carved; the bowl is more than 2.5" in diameter. What's the right size for a scoop like this?

Another ladle, from the same block of sweetgum. This one is much smaller, about the right size for salad dressing. It will be among the new pieces up in the shop at the end of the week.

I was asked a while ago to come up with a soup ladle, and, after a bit of experimenting, this is my second attempt. It's definitely the largest spoon I've carved (13 inches long) and probably the most complicated.

I'm putting together a number of pieces for a shop update in about two weeks, and this will be among them. Anything else in particular you'd like to see?

A few pieces that finally made it to Chicago today. Many thanks to and for keeping busy for much of the year.

Small bowl with a handle, in black walnut.

This was a bit of an experiment, one of those ideas I had to actually make in order to see it. I can almost see it now!

A few ring bowls in sweetgum and black walnut headed out today.

I loved my 27" iMac. One thing I've discovered it doesn't do well, though, is land face down on the floor after falling off a desk. There were sparks and an odd flash of light. I apologized and said that I didn't want our relationship to end this way, but still I'm just getting the silent treatment. Needless to say, I've been offline for a bit.

I've got some new pieces to get up this week and a few that I'm really excited about. They will, short another computer catstrophe, be up on my website this weekend.

New set of serving pieces in sweetgum.

These have been a lot of fun as the color patterns are varied and get kinda wild. The blond part is the sapwood and the heartwood is (unusually in my experience) softer and full of color streaks, orange and black and green and grey.

The finished pecan set. One bite serving pieces for .