The maple was one of the only sources of sugar for the native peoples & as such, it was seen as a gift from the creator. While the maple is a gift, the native tales are clear that this gift takes work.

The majority of maple trees are considered “pioneer species” meaning they are hardy enough to persevere. They are able to repopulate damaged and disrupted ecosystems because they have the ability to adapt to many different soil types & climates.

Burl wood is anything but average. The swirls, twirls, and eyes dancing in the bark all create a unique, highly figured wood grain. A burl is an unusual-looking collection of tree cells. These are callous tissues. These are formed usually as a response to environmental damage such as injury or fungal colonies. The callous tissue then forms burls that are so admired.

Curl is a common figuring of wood. Also referred to as tiger stripe and ripple. Curl is compression grain perpendicularly crossing the face of a board producing alternate stripes of hard and soft board fiber. This phenomenon creates a chatoyancy in the board varying in strength depending on the degree of compression leaving the viewer with the illusion of a three-dimensional surface.

The term derives from the French word “chatoyer”, which means “to iridesce, like a cat’s eye.” If you’ve ever seen the stone tiger’s eye, you get the idea. In woodworking, chatoyance is a similarly striking optical quality in which areas of light and dark grain seemingly shimmer or shift depending on the angle of view.

Quilted is a type of figuring named for its resemblance to patchwork patterns seen on fabric quilts. Experts believe the pattern is caused by a mixture of genetics and growing conditions. More specifically, it’s seen only in parts of the tree which grew at an angle.