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You folks know how much I love visiting Hawaii. I spent several years there as a teenager, and I've been traveling back there as often as I can ever since. I've always watched in custom gift shops for that perfect souvenir or collectible, but I never found it. Then it occurred to me that maybe I should set out to make my own.
I have a friend who makes clocks. That's really an understatement - he does incredible work, and his clocks are truly works of art. He makes them by hand from a variety of woods, and any of them would make a great item to have in someone's home. I asked him if he'd ever made a clock out of Koa wood. He knew of the wood, but said it was very rare, and he'd never had the opportunity. We talked about ideas and details I had in my head, and he was willing to give it a try. But where do you get Koa wood on the Mainland, when it grows only in Hawaii?
On my last trip to Kauai, I decided I had to find out if it was possible to buy raw Koa, and ship it home. Turns out that yes, it can be purchased from several suppliers, when it's available, and UPS would ship it home for me. I visited a lumberyard in Kapa'a, where I sorted through a stack of raw Koa boards in a dark storage area, trying to find pieces of the right size and condition. I found two pieces I thought looked good, paid for them, and delivered them to the UPS store in the Kauai Village Shopping Center in Kapa'a. They didn't look at me with too strange an expression, when I asked them to wrap and ship these two dirty, raw boards to my home in Washington state. The wood arrived in fine condition - UPS had even wrapped it in bubble wrap and plastic to prevent any damage along the way. They did a great job. I turned the wood over to my friend, who was very excited to finally have his hands on a usable quantity of this amazing wood.
That was about a year and a half ago. In the time since, between making clocks for his other customers, my friend started working on my clock. He'd periodically send me a picture of this or that piece or a mock up of the design, or how the wood looked after he'd planed it, book matched the pieces to "stretch" it to get enough to cover the front of the design, and on and on. Through it all I kept a patient eye on the finished product, knowing that an artist's work can't be rushed.
He called a few weeks ago and asked if we could talk about final details for things, and said he was very close to being done. I was starting to get excited. Last weekend I went to his workshop to make those choices, and seeing the result in person was beyond my expectations. He is a master of his craft, and I am absolutely delighted. What is most remarkable is he built this clock using only one of the boards I sent home. We're already talking about a project for the other one. Koa has a warmth and beauty that is unlike any other wood I've ever seen, and I can't wait to have it in my home.
The design is what he calls a Northern Prairie style. Kind of Arts and Crafts, but not entirely. The cutouts on the front are stylized canoe paddles, so the pendulum swinging behind it can be seen. The pattern on the face is a modified tropical flower design you might find on a Hawaiian quilt. The numbers are an art nouveau style that fits well with the overall design. The clock is about 18 inches wide, a little over 24 inches tall, and about 5 inches deep. When it is installed at my home it will be at the end of a hallway, lighted with its own soft track light, with a direct line of sight from the front door. It's the perfect location for what I think is a perfect clock, and what will be a treasured family heirloom. It is everything I wanted. Unmistakably Hawaiian to my eye, and looks as if it might be something that could have hung in the home of an old Hawaiian family.
What do you think?
Dave
Tug rules won't let me put the company name here, but if you're interested, PM me and I'll send you his website link.
I have a friend who makes clocks. That's really an understatement - he does incredible work, and his clocks are truly works of art. He makes them by hand from a variety of woods, and any of them would make a great item to have in someone's home. I asked him if he'd ever made a clock out of Koa wood. He knew of the wood, but said it was very rare, and he'd never had the opportunity. We talked about ideas and details I had in my head, and he was willing to give it a try. But where do you get Koa wood on the Mainland, when it grows only in Hawaii?
On my last trip to Kauai, I decided I had to find out if it was possible to buy raw Koa, and ship it home. Turns out that yes, it can be purchased from several suppliers, when it's available, and UPS would ship it home for me. I visited a lumberyard in Kapa'a, where I sorted through a stack of raw Koa boards in a dark storage area, trying to find pieces of the right size and condition. I found two pieces I thought looked good, paid for them, and delivered them to the UPS store in the Kauai Village Shopping Center in Kapa'a. They didn't look at me with too strange an expression, when I asked them to wrap and ship these two dirty, raw boards to my home in Washington state. The wood arrived in fine condition - UPS had even wrapped it in bubble wrap and plastic to prevent any damage along the way. They did a great job. I turned the wood over to my friend, who was very excited to finally have his hands on a usable quantity of this amazing wood.
That was about a year and a half ago. In the time since, between making clocks for his other customers, my friend started working on my clock. He'd periodically send me a picture of this or that piece or a mock up of the design, or how the wood looked after he'd planed it, book matched the pieces to "stretch" it to get enough to cover the front of the design, and on and on. Through it all I kept a patient eye on the finished product, knowing that an artist's work can't be rushed.
He called a few weeks ago and asked if we could talk about final details for things, and said he was very close to being done. I was starting to get excited. Last weekend I went to his workshop to make those choices, and seeing the result in person was beyond my expectations. He is a master of his craft, and I am absolutely delighted. What is most remarkable is he built this clock using only one of the boards I sent home. We're already talking about a project for the other one. Koa has a warmth and beauty that is unlike any other wood I've ever seen, and I can't wait to have it in my home.
The design is what he calls a Northern Prairie style. Kind of Arts and Crafts, but not entirely. The cutouts on the front are stylized canoe paddles, so the pendulum swinging behind it can be seen. The pattern on the face is a modified tropical flower design you might find on a Hawaiian quilt. The numbers are an art nouveau style that fits well with the overall design. The clock is about 18 inches wide, a little over 24 inches tall, and about 5 inches deep. When it is installed at my home it will be at the end of a hallway, lighted with its own soft track light, with a direct line of sight from the front door. It's the perfect location for what I think is a perfect clock, and what will be a treasured family heirloom. It is everything I wanted. Unmistakably Hawaiian to my eye, and looks as if it might be something that could have hung in the home of an old Hawaiian family.
What do you think?
Dave
Tug rules won't let me put the company name here, but if you're interested, PM me and I'll send you his website link.
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