My wife, Jina, and I (Derek) run a small woodworking studio based in the countryside of Panama. We harvest fallen trees from land developments, to roadside constructions, to build custom furniture. We are involved in every step of the process, from harvesting the wood, milling the wood, and kiln drying it, allowing spalting to occur in certain species, to custom design and craftsmanship.
We were commissioned a large mid-century inspired buffet piece by one of our clients who had asked us to incorporate some of the spalted wood we love to work with. Jina, who leads the design side of the business, proposed a six-drawer piece with center storage and custom drawer pulls. The main body is constructed in teak, a wood sourced from a mismanaged mono-crop teak plantation that is being reforested due to the negative soil effects the trees have left on the land. The solid wood drawer construction has dovetailed joinery and is face veneered with spalted tamarind wood. The tamarind tree was collected after it was cut down from a housing development 2 years ago. We intentionally left this wood in specific elements over the course of 6-8 months to foster fungi growth on the log. After that, it was harvested and dried in our homemade kiln. Once in the shop, we were able to make the veneers, which would become the drawer faces for this very unique piece. You can see more of our custom works on our website at www.pereystudio.com.
Thanks,
Derek and Jina
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