Community & Business
27 June, 2024
Carpenter defies timber shortage
NATIVE logs that would have been turned into mulch or firewood are being given a new life by local carpenter Chris Vine, who is turning them into unique handmade timber furniture.
From his home in Wondecla, Chris creates sustainable handmade tables, chairs, desks, and cabinets through his business, Tablelands Tablecraft.
A large majority of his timber comes from neighbours and friends properties, where they have had trees fall down suddenly.
Chris said most people had no idea how high-quality the timber on their own properties is, especially during a national timber shortage.
“Good quality timber is really hard to get at the moment with new restrictions and laws in place, so the only way you can source it is through salvaging all the logs we can,” he said.
“We get a lot of logs after cyclones and slab it up – save it from the woodchippers and fires.”
Throughout his life, Chris worked very closely with his carpenter father to create a variety of furniture pieces from locally sourced wood with a special technique.
Although his father has since passed away, Chris is still carrying on his legacy through their shared business, creating furniture the same way he was taught in his youth.
“We specialise in big, natural slabs and single pieces of timber, and we are not joining little pieces of timber together as the big companies do,” he said.
“We do single tabletops, kitchen island benches, and handmade chairs are sort of our speciality thing – there aren’t many people who make handmade chairs anymore, especially ones with matching timber tables.”
Chris’s creations can be seen on his Facebook page “Tablelands Tablecraft”.
