The Catkin Loop View

In British Columbia, hardwood trees such as alder, maple and birch are more likely be used for firewood than furniture. And after years of splitting alder to provide warmth, I began to look more closely at the wood–it's colour and grain–and came to appreciate the tree for the quality of the wood and the potential to use it for log and live edge furniture.

All trees used for all Catkin Loop furniture are selectively logged through environmentally sustainable methods. Most of the wood used in the log furniture is young saplings, selected by thinning stands of alder. Other species are windfalls or only occasionally selected, and our view is to use as much of the tree as possible, down to the smallest branches.

We are often asked about the meaning of our name. What is a catkin loop anyway?

A catkin is a slim drooping flower cluster found on many trees and shrubs, such as alder and birch. As part of the reproduction cycle, the catkin is the start of nature's loop from seed to furniture. We capture the process of growth and renewal in our log furniture, by using log rounds and natural edges.

About Allan Main, the Fine Rustic Furniture Maker

Allan grew up in a home where woodworking was an early childhood activity–boats, bird houses or anything else a child’s imagination can see in a few pieces of wood nailed together are part of his earliest memories. These early skills lead him to starting his working life as a carpenter, but after a few years of working through the wet and cold, he returned to school to get a business degree and a desk job. But he never stopped working with wood, and as his own home filled with furniture he realized that he needed to turn his love for woodworking into a business, and started Catkin Loop Fine Rustic Furniture in 2003. On occasion he returns to a desk, but is now usually found working in the shop.

 

Wood is nature’s most organic building material, and Catkin Loop captures the essence of the tree in log furniture, with all the warmth and colour of the wood and the form and character of the tree.