The Craft

The Artist

The hands behind Nordkraft

I have always been drawn to anomalies.

My relationship with woodworking began at Stinson Studios, where I was first introduced to the craft and, in particular, the extraordinary character of irregular growths. What began as a fascination with these remarkable pieces of wood became a pursuit of discovering what they could become.

Today, I seek out burls, knots, galls and other forms of wood that conventional woodworking often discards. Each Nordkraft piece is shaped by hand, allowing the natural character of the material to guide the process rather than conceal it.

I work slowly and experiment often, allowing the material to dictate the final form. My goal isn't to make wood perfect, but to reveal what was already there.

There is no factory line or even a built-out workshop behind a Nordkraft piece. Every cavity is carved, every surface refined and every inlay placed by hand, right here in my residential garage.

Small variations and asymmetries aren't imperfections to eliminate - they are evidence of the material, the process and the human hands behind the finished piece.

Adventitious Burl

Sugar Maple

Root Collar Burl

Yellow Birch

Flame/Stress Burl

Silver Maple

Epicormic Bud Gall

Balsam Poplar

Healed Branch Knot - Unsealed

Canadian Ironwood

Healed Branch Knot - Sealed

Red Maple

The Material

What nature creates

Burls occur when a tree experiences localized hyperplasia - an excess of growth hormones caused by genetics, stress or trauma. The tree develops an abnormal growth, producing highly figured grain, unique patterns and colouration distortion. Unlike the predictable figure of conventional lumber, burl grain changes direction constantly and each burl forms with a pattern that cannot be replicated.

Adventitious Burl — Abnormal development of dormant buds beneath the bark, producing clusters of small bud traces/“pin-eyes” in the grain.

Flame/Stress Burl — Prolonged stress within the tree producing intensely compressed grain with pronounced curl/birdseye figure.

Mineral Burl — Growth disturbance producing irregular patches of dark wood and pronounced mineral streaking throughout the grain.

Core/Spiral Burl — Formed around a central point producing a concentrated, radial figure that follows the tree's core.

Lignotuber — A swollen reserve of dormant buds and stored nutrients near the base of the tree, producing irregular grain.

Cluster Burl — Multiple areas of anomalous growth develop together, creating a cluster of distinct external swellings.

Knots are typically treated as defects: branches interrupt the grain, reduce the usable yield of lumber, and can turn otherwise valuable timber into firewood or waste. Yet within a fully healed external knot, compressed and redirected grain can produce extraordinary chatoyancy and intricate internal patterns. What makes the knot undesirable to conventional woodworking is often precisely what makes it fascinating to me.

Galls develop when a tree responds to biological activity with clustered growths, and most are too deteriorated to be useful. A rare few can contain remarkable concentrations of colour, figure, and distorted grain that would never occur in ordinary lumber. Their unpredictable formation means that every usable gall reveals something different.

As wood grows around knots, burls, injuries and other forms of stress, its fibres can be forced to grow in different directions, causing the grain to intersect and overlap. These changing directions affect how light is absorbed and reflected across the surface, creating bands of lighter and darker grain that give the wood its distinctive cats-eye appearance. The resulting figure resembles flowing ribbons of light and shadow, with each formation developing its own luminous pattern.

Nordkraft sources material through a mixture of salvage, private sellers, tree removals and selective harvesting. Whenever possible, I prioritize wood that has already been removed or would otherwise be discarded.

The Technique

What I choose to reveal

Each piece begins with the form the wood already possesses. Power carving allows me to follow its natural contours rather than forcing it into a predetermined shape. Whenever possible, I preserve the original bark, creating a deliberate contrast between the refined interior and rough exterior - a labor-intensive approach rarely used in conventional woodworking.

The form emerges through progressively finer sanding, from aggressive power sanding to detailed hand finishing. Rotary tools carefully remove unstable or decayed material, exposing hidden voids, colours and grain. Because the grain changes direction constantly, every surface must be approached individually.

Epoxy, metal and gemstones are used not to compete with the wood, but to complete it. Colours and materials are selected to create contrast, draw attention to natural formations and emphasize details within the grain. Each inlay is placed and finished by hand, retaining subtle irregularities that distinguish it from a manufactured object.

Rather than covering the wood with conventional stains or dyes, fuming allows its natural chemistry to determine the colour. The prepared wood is exposed to tannin-reactive fumes, then allowed to settle, dry and off-gas for approximately a week before finishing continues. Though slower and more temperamental than staining, fuming produces depth and variation that cannot simply be brushed onto the surface.

Despite the long cure time, I opt for pure tung oil to deepen the wood's natural colour, figure and chatoyancy. After curing, every piece is then finished with Renaissance Wax for its smooth, tactile feel. Where greater protection or a different surface character is appropriate, polyurethane may be used instead.

A Nordkraft piece cannot be rushed. Wood and epoxy swell, shrink and settle as they respond to changes in temperature and humidity, often requiring days or even weeks of rest between stages. Freshly cut wood may take years to dry before it can be worked, while fumed pieces are left to settle and off-gas for approximately a week. Even the final tung oil coating is given time to cure.
The process moves at the pace the material demands.

View The Collection