Our Birch Bark Series celebrates the natural beauty of birch bark. We first became aware of the material after a visit to Vancouver’s Museum of Anthropology. There you can see the creative ways Northern Indigenous people crafted the material into exquisite boxes, totems, and canoes. Feeling completely inspired by their workmanship, we knew we had to see what we could do with the material!
Our birch is harvested by local communities in Northern Alaska. During harvesting, the bark is unwrapped from the tree by cutting a horizontal line down the shaft of the trunk. If done correctly, the bark just pops off! The bark will hold onto its natural curl so harvested sheets need to be flattened and laminated to substrate so we can put it to work. Some craftspeople choose to apply a protective coating of polyurethane on the bark to prevent scuffing but the birch used in our Birch Bark Series is left untreated because we want to preserve its natural beauty.
Birch bark is a refreshingly raw material to get in at the shop, as most of the lumber we build with has been sawn into individual boards and it's bark scraped into mulch for gardening . We love getting a new batch of birch in because every sheet has its own unique characteristics. The contrast between the bark's dark impressions against its bone white, papery base is what gives birch its beautiful and unique appeal. The bark becomes a piece of modern art when we frame it as doors in our black or white lacquered storage cabinets. Our Birch Bark series was recently featured on DesignMilk.
Birch reached its height in popularity during the 1970’s when rustic cabin chic was the look. Since its glory days ended, it’s a hard finish to find in the market. We’ve reintroduced birch into our homes by reimagining its traditional uses into functional furniture pieces. That is why we are so proud to offer you the Birch Bark Series! You can own a quality piece of furniture that is rich in both craftsman history and natural beauty.
Shop our storage collection for more info, sizes and finish options. Contact us at the shop if you have any questions or if you have a custom idea in mind. We’d love to collaborate with you!
WRITTEN BY: Todd Mitchell
PHOTO CREDITS: Harvest photo from The Globe & Mail