Not all wood I find in old buildings is good enough to be used in creating new furniture, but a lot of it is. The beauty of the wood comes not only from its "roots" and the artwork made by the tree itself, but also from the history it aquired by being part of an old building. I try to bring out that aspect of the wood and make each piece a small tribute to that tree, that builder, that structure.
Many of the old barns in Maine have magnificent internal woodwork. We are establishing a practice here of honoring that tradition in a way that makes it useful again.
Every design is unique because it embodies the age, the texture, the knots and sawmarks of the original wood. The archeology of the timbers is important to my process in contruction. The quality of the wood must bear the task to which we now repurpose that wood. To some these old boards are scrap and without value. To me, they are inspirational and worth transforming into a new, useful piece of art.
LaPointe Antiques & Restoration
1191 River Road
Bowdoinham, Maine 04008
