Treet
When did you set up Treet?
Treet was set up 5 years ago in order to provide a platform to sell raw timber and rustic furniture. The idea behind the business was to make more use of local timber that otherwise would have been turned into firewood. Wood is planked at my yard or on site using what’s known as a Peterson mill or an Alaskan chainsaw mill.
The furniture I make is simple and strongly bolted together. I am not a carpenter and what I make is not about intricate joinery. It’s about having something different that is not produced abroad in a factory.
Where do you source your wood?
50% of the wood that I work with is from local sources. The other 50% comes from a variety of places. Some examples - I have a limited amount of elm planked by a collegue from dead trees he finds up in Scotland, an oak that fell in a field in Brockenhurst, black poplar from a school in Southampton, yew from a churchyard in Hythe. All these trees are felled by tree surgeons and then I offer to clear the wood for free. This is usually done by a call to Farwells who have a 12 ton hiab lorry that can lift up to 4 ton logs. If I’m offered wood I take it it!
Tell us about your products
The furniture I make is more dictated by the wood. Given time I experiment with making different types of tables, benches and features. Mostly they have one thing in common – they are big, solid and heavy! Part of the reason for this is that solid wood works better in thicker pieces and also it differentiates what I make from imported furniture.
Where can we buy some your products?
There are several places you can see and buy what I make. My main showroom is the Something’s Brewing Cafe in Brookley Road Broackenhurst, http://www.somethings-brewing.co.uk/, I have also started an exhibit at Careys Manor, a few pieces at ‘The Daisybank’, and also made several pieces of furniture for the ‘Cottage Lodge’. Fairweathers garden center in Beaulieu have also expressed an interest.
Seeing the pieces finished gives a much better idea of what wood looks like after some elbow grease!
When and why did you join the Marque?
I joined the Marque 5 years ago in order to help promote my timber and furniture. In that time the NFM has been very active in helping to promote me and introduced me to Paula and Mark the owners of the Watersplash Cafe. This gave me the showroom I needed to start selling furniture and wooden sculptures in much larger quantities. The difficulty for me is I am usually busy sawing timber and making things. I don’t have the time or resources to run a shop front in order to market what I make. Through that one contact the New Forest Marque paid for itself for 10 years.
Any exciting plans for 2012?
Just to carry on building up a portfolio using local businesses to showcase my furniture. The Gordleton Mill now has a couple of wooden sculptures on display as well as buying five round oak table tops. Next stage there is to re build the bar using locally sourced oak.The plan is to build on the success of the Watersplash Cafe and have several local hotels where people can walk around and look at the finished articles.
If you are interested in finding out more about Treet, please visit our website www.treet.org. Or pop along to the Watersplash Café for a coffee and a viewing of our great products.