"News from the Horizon"
Spring 2012 - Vol 4, Issue 2
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Item of the Month
May 2012 |
Presenting a collection of figure in a variety of species.....
black, white and red!
WALNUT, HARD MAPLE and CHERRY.
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Travels and Trade Shows
| Lots going on in the coming months....
George and Pete will find themselves in Japan in the middle of May. The Japanese, with their senses attuned to the simplicity of nature's design, have been making good use of HORIZON's wood for several years now. The guys are looking forward to HORIZON's first-ever visit to the large island/country to see for themselves how the HORIZON connection fits over there.
June will include travel to Great Britain and a visit with the Thorogoods who have been representing HORIZON's wood on their home turf in yet another island/country for quite some time now! It is always a fun trip.
The International Woodworking Fair is coming up in August. Prepping for trade shows keeps us on our toes. We are looking forward to seeing you in Atlanta. You will find us at booth number 1644. Stop on over and be ready to talk wood!
Rolling on into the fall we will be doing double duty with WIA.
We will be in Pasadina, CA at the WIA West Coast in October, then closer to home at WIA MidWest by Novemeber. The MidWest Cinncinatti show has come to be one of our favorites. We will be joining together with old friends and meeting new ones. A nice way to wind down a very busy schedule for 2012.
We sure do hope you will take advantage of an opportunity to stop at the HORIZON booth at one of these venues and introduce yourselves!
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HORIZON's wood speaks for itself -
but John Loftis knows how to make it SING! |
 John Loftis, President of LoneStar Artisans, got a call from a client who wanted a desk top. There were a couple of specifications. He wanted to use an iron base which he designed, and he wanted wood with FIGURE! A search for just the right material led Loftis to HORIZON. He spotted some super curly cherry on HORIZON's online inventory. While sharing the pictures with his client they were able to catch the vision and imagine the possibilities. The deal was sealed!
Any woodworker worth his stuff knows that figured wood can have a mind of its own. Figure develops when the tree grows under certain stressors that cause irregular compression of the growth pattern. The resulting wood can be a bugger to dry effectively, even when using the most exacting techniques. Cupping sometimes occurs, twist is more unusual, but shows from time to time. Loftis and his client valued the super spectacular curl in the flitches they selected. They also needed the massive 24" width to create their dream. John was well aware that if he chose to use the flitches intact rather than cutting them down into smaller components, he would have to deal with the significant twist in this particular piece. It's the price you sometimes pay when nature presents you with both extreme figure and super widths. Loftis tackled the wood with respect and crafted it into shape like a pro. Take a look at his build blog for all the fascinating details. (Oh, and while you are at it, be sure to click on his links.....we promise you will be chuckling.)
Thanks to a very inspirational teacher back in the days of High School wood shop, John's talent for creating things with wood had an early beginning. It is a skill he has been perfecting over time. John's  passion for woodworking acquired a more significant roll in his life a few years back when he stepped out of a high pressure career in corporate America. Today, he feels extremely blessed to be able to create something tangible, both in the furniture he crafts and in the small business he is building. He is truly enjoying the effort. Rather than shuffling papers, John says, "I now get great satisfaction from building real, tangible things that occupy space, can be looked at, touched and admired. I love the idea that they will leave a lasting legacy and be around for generations."
We are always happy when customers like John appreciate and understand the beauty of HORIZON's wood. It looks good in its raw state, but it is absolutely stunning when the craftsman's skill can tease out the details and make the wood sing! This desk top's song is loud and clear.
John is excited by the wood he has received from HORIZON and he has been saying some pretty kind words about the great customer service he has received in his dealings with us. You can see what he has to say about HORIZON - check it out.
Here at HORIZON we take real pride in satisfying the customer with the best wood match we can find. We treat our customers like we treat our wood .... with special care.
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Customer Highlight
Peter Lawrence Woodworkers creates tables for Tom Colicchio's Restaurant using HORIZON's Walnut |
Interested in seeing a display of walnut flitch wood from HORIZON? Just take a trip to Manhattan. The Craftbar Restaurant on Broadway (owned by Tom Colicchio of TOP CHEF fame!), showcases an entire "grove" of it. Peter Lawrence Woodworkers was bidding on the job to create all 42 tables needed for Craftbar's upgrade project. When Peter went to meet with the designers of the restaurant's interior 
revamp he was carrying a large slab of live-edged Horizon walnut with him. No doubt Peter's finely honed talents as a furniture builder had a major part in earning him the contract. But, here at HORIZON we are convinced the beautiful hunk of walnut he dragged into the interview played a significant role in the design team's decision!
The walnut tables, which include live edges interspersed with sawn, add a touch of 'rustic class' to the restaurant. The beautiful walnut is unadorned with linens. Guests enjoy their meals at place settings directly on the finely finished wood. The tactile sense of touching the walnut while seeing its subtle grain introduces the warmth of nature to the place. After the new tables had been in place for several months the restaurant made an interesting observation. When making their reservations, diners were actually requesting to be seated at their personal favorite live-edged table! Obviously, the design is working.
Peter Scalera, owner or Peter Lawrence Woodworkers, crafted the tables in a variety of shapes allowing for flexibility in the restaurant's layout. There are several 36" squares that include drop leaves which can cleverly convert the table to 52 inch rounds, other configurations for bench or banquette seating, and taller rectangular bar height sizes. It was a big project, and Peter was pleased to source the beautiful walnut from HORIZON. According to Peter, "HORIZON's customer service is tops". And as we've mentioned before, our wood speaks for itself! To see another of Peter's great use of HORIZON slabs, check out this spectacular coffee bar in an upscale Manhattan salon. Oh, wonderful wood.
 
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Special Shipping Deal - get your funny bone in gear!
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SPECIAL OFFERING ......
If you can come up with a better "black white and red all over" joke than ours, we will split the shipping cost of this May Item of the Month offering with you. Send us your stuff!!!! It shouldn't be hard to top us!
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Newsbrief Archives
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