Shaping Trees (Living Ornamentation; Growing Furniture)

[punychicken]

PETER Cook has chairs, beds and tables literally growing in his garden. The Swanfels man said while his living furniture may not be like your conven- tional sofa, it was a growing craze about to be showcased to the world.

“Furniture growing has been hailed as the new art- form of the 21st Century and later this month we will be taking it to Japan for World Expo,’’ Mr Cook said. “It will be the first time my partner Rebecca and I have launched our work and un- less you see it, it is really hard to believe.’’ Mr Cook said after fine- tuning theart for more than 17 years he was now widely regarded as the best in the world. “A man in Japan re- searched and could only find about five to 10 others doing it in the world,’’ he said. “We use a style known as Pooktre and we have already been on Japanese television with our work. “My latest venture is shaping people-trees with hands, heads and hair.’’ Mr Cook, who is better known around Warwick as the man behind the Jackie Howe centenary sculpture in Albion Street, said the couple primarily used plum trees for sculptures. “We will continue farming the trees and plan to start selling them soon,’’ he said. “We have even been approached to shape a house.

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[EnolaGaia]

Here's the story of a UK man who's made a business out of shaping trees to produce chairs and other furniture items. His website can be accessed via the second link below.

This cool wooden furniture isn’t built—it’s grown

Need some cottage furniture that really reflects your love of nature? How about a chair that literally grew on a tree? Full Grown is a furniture company in the UK that specializes not in building furniture, but in farming it.

How does one farm a chair or a table? It’s actually a pretty simple concept. First, you plant a tree. Then you graft the young plant into shape around a frame and wait for the wood to thicken. Once it’s the appropriate size and strength, you can “harvest” the fully grown piece of furniture. After that, all that’s left to do is planing and finishing the wood.

The idea comes from furniture designer Gavin Munro, who, as a child, saw a bonsai tree that looked like a chair—an image that stuck with him. The idea further took shape when Munro had to undergo a series of operations to straighten his spine. After the operations, he had to wear a frame that held his bones in place as they grafted back together. Having experienced firsthand what it’s like to be shaped, Munro later thought the idea could be applied to furniture.

Growing a complete chair takes four to eight years, so these pieces of furniture will never proliferate IKEA-style. Instead, they are intended for collectors who want their furniture to also be a unique piece of art. As well as chairs, Munro also grows lampshades, mirror frames, and tables. ...

SOURCE: https://cottagelife.com/outdoors/this-cool-wooden-furniture-isnt-built-its-grown/

See Also:
Gavin Munro: Growing Chairs
https://www.gaiadiscovery.com/latest-people/gavin-munro-growing-chairs

FULL GROWN (Website):https://fullgrown.co.uk

 

[EnolaGaia]

Treeshapers.net provides an overview of historical tree shapers and furniture growers.

This site is about helping people find all the different Shaped Trees around the world. We will endeavor to have, on each practitioner’s page, a summary of the history of the tree shapes with which they have become involved, and link to their appropriate websites, if any.

http://treeshapers.net