New Designs and Exciting News!

Simple Seating

Over the past several months I have been designing a new line of seating, and just last week I added the final designs to my portfolio. I wanted to blend traditional chair design with a modern touch and am very happy with the outcome.  This collection of bar stools and dining chairs are a no nonsense approach to seating.

The 'Gudde Dining Chair,' 'Modern Dining Chair,' and 'Modern Barstool' have a welded steel frame with an inset hardwood backrest, and fitted hardwood seat. The back legs splay out to give a subtle yet appealing design touch that matches the angle of the backrest.  The seat tapers from the front to back of the chair, being fitted in between the backrest frames for a clean and fitted seat.

For those wanting a more traditional design with an industrial look, I made the the 'No Nonsense Bar Stool.' Living up to it's name, this stool is simple ⏤ a square steel base with two footrest placements and a hardwood top.

All simple seating designs are available for order in a variety of hardwoods and steel base finishes, at chair (18"), counter (25"), or standard barstool (30") heights.

Contact me if you're interested in placing an order!

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Upcoming Gallery Feature!

I have been given the opportunity to be part of an upcoming gallery exhibition in Austin. The exhibition will run from April to July, near downtown Austin, and feature several Gudde Co pieces. This will be a great opportunity to not only showcase my work but also tell the story of some of the local pieces I've created.  

On top of that exciting news, the gallery exhibition occurs during the West Austin Studio Tour weekends (May 13-14 & 20-21). The West Tour (for those not in Austin) is a free, annual, self-guided art event giving the public an opportunity to meet local artists and artisans of Austin. It's quite a big deal in the arts community! During these West Studio weekends, I will showcase additional Gudde Co pieces at the gallery and be on-site to talk about my work and the displayed pieces.

I am honored that the gallery selected me and my work as the feature of the upcoming exhibition. I can't wait to see the response during both the exhibition and West Tour weekends!

*More details will follow, as the exhibition date gets closer!

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Recently Delivered Pieces

2017 started off with a bang! I completed 9 pieces in January, shipping them off to great clients across the US! 

White Oak coffee table with blue powder coated steel base. Shipped to a great client in Illinois, along with three matching C-tables.

Wine rack made from a single, solid slab

Two end of bed benches, made of local Austin Pecan and Solid Cherry slabs.

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So Long 2016...

Thank you for your support!

As I sit here drinking a cup of 1320 coffee (damn good coffee from a damn good friend-CHECK IT OUT!), from my 1989 Hardee’s mug, listening to Morrison Hotel by The Doors, I can’t help but think back on 2016 and all it has been. I had some ups and some very serious downs but, more importantly I have been fortunate enough to stay busy throughout the year with custom commissions. For that I am grateful!  

This year I also embarked on the never-ending journey of saving trees from waste and milling them into live edge slabs. I've talked about this before but, it might be the most important aspect of my future business. Being able to work with a piece of wood that I have controlled from initial milling to a finished piece of furniture is something that not all woodworkers get to do. It is incredibly exciting!

Thank you to all who have supported me in this venture by allowing me to build you a piece. Without you, I couldn’t continue to do what I love. Thank you also to those who have helped spread the word about my work and supported me in that way. Without your sharing my work, I'm not sure I would be able to secure as many commissioned pieces. 

I've made 70 pieces to date in 2016, with a few more finishing up before the year is out. These pieces ranged from complete dining sets, desks and coffee tables, to custom designed shelving (which was a first!). This is all due to your support!

Overall 2016 was a great challenge to say the least. I am thankful for the opportunities the year has brought and yet more thankful to be moving forward into 2017. I hope you’ll stay with me throughout the next year and continue your support! Who knows what the year will bring!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

-Dane 

As always, if you know anyone who would enjoy my work, I encourage and ask you to share it with your network.  Thank you!

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Still need a gift?

We have a few available items, ready to ship right away! Check out our Available Now section to see the full listings and details on each piece.

Please email info@guddeco.com for delivery/shipment information prior to ordering.

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It's a major award... it could be a bowling alley!

Texas Furniture Makers Show

I was honored to be selected to participate in this year's Texas Furniture Makers Show® in Kerrville, TX. The Show® is a statewide competition of the finest custom furniture makers in Texas; only taking 50-60 pieces each year through a juried selection process. The pieces are displayed in the Kerrville Arts Center Gallery and the exhibit is open to the public for 5 weeks, allowing people to enjoy and see the work of these selected furniture makers. 

My piece selected for The Show®:

The Show® is also juried by a few well-known local and national woodworking experts, selected each year, to come and judge the Show® pieces and award the makers who best fit the criteria for which they're looking in each category.

Last week was the Awards Ceremony and Reception for this year's show and I was in attendance. Seeing the gallery full of the juried pieces was incredible! So many talented makers from across the state in one place, with differing levels of experience, techniques, and stylings. It was great to spend time with these fellow furniture makers. We talked shop, traded techniques and ideas, and spoke of our favorite master woodworkers, all while admiring each others work. As my wife would say, I was "among my people" and "giddy" being around these other makers; people who love woodworking as much as I do!

Toward the end of the evening the Awards Ceremony began. Surrounded by amazing talent and unique pieces, I was not expecting anything from the ceremony but only to see what caught the judges eyes. However, to my extreme surprise I was awarded "Best Finish" for my piece. While this wasn't an "official" award category with a monetary price, the judges felt I should be awarded for my finishing work as it stood out among all the other pieces. So much so, that even the judges themselves were asking questions about my finishing techniques...which was awesome!

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Recent Pieces

East Austin Pecan Benches

The Pecan used in this set was sourced and milled from an East Austin Pecan tree that fell and was destined for the landfill. I was able to secure the trunk and main limbs, milling everything on-site to ensure that this tree wouldn't be another wasted treasure. These benches are among the first pieces made from lumber which was harvested, milled, and built from local trees that I have saved.

Remember the Pecan milling process? See it again here and here!

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Live Oak Coffee Table

The Live Oak slab used for this table comes from a heritage tree in Austin. The tree had to be removed for safety reasons by the homeowner. The tree was located in an older North Austin neighborhood where it stood for decades. The Walnut center base is complimented by White Oak stretchers that are meticulously fitted with traditional bridal joints for strength and stability.

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Live Edge Cherry Media Stand

This media stand was custom ordered by a local client who wanted a nice mix of my previous console table design but, with an area for storage of media peripherals.  This was the design I came up with and I feel that the Cherry slab top on the cherry case goes perfectly with the steel base design. It was recently delivered to its new home in South Austin.  

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Drowning in Sea of Walnut

Missouri and back

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to go back to my hometown of Centralia, Missouri and mill a Walnut tree believed to be over 100 years old. The tree uprooted and fell during a tornadic-like storm back in July, damaging a family-friend’s home. Knowing what the wood was worth, the beauty it held, and that I've started urban logging, I was asked if I wanted to save the tree. Needless to say I jumped at the opportunity! 

Due to the sheer size of the tree, the trunk had to be cut into two sections for easy handling: Log #1 @ 9ft long x 32-42in wide & Log #2 @ 8ft long x 30-33in wide. Even the larger branches averaged at 4-5ft long x 14-36in wide. THIS TREE WAS HUGE!!

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Milling this Walnut tree was more labor intensive than I anticipated; mostly due to the size of the logs themselves, as this is the largest tree I have milled to date. It took 5 solid days of exhausting work to get 48 usable Walnut slabs. And I would do it all over again!

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To say this tree and the slabs I cut are beautiful is a severe understatement. Walnut as figured and pronounced as this doesn’t really exist in today’s lumber market. I cannot wait to see these slabs come to life down the road through a piece of furniture!

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After milling the Walnut tree, I took a short 2 hour drive to Dow, Illinois to meet one of my woodworking heroes, David Stine. Dave has been handcrafting furniture since 1995 using lumber he sustainably harvests on a 500 acre farm, that has been in his family for 4 generations (#livingthedream). This guy is the man!

Dave let me hang out for a while and I was lucky enough to catch him at work, milling his own Walnut log! We exchanged ideas and techniques, talked about woodworking and business, and he showed me around the farm. I even brought gifts as a “Thank You” for letting me hang out… and I think he appreciated the gesture!

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Summer Of Slab-sty-Nine

Adventures in Slabbing...

The urban logging adventure continues and has become quite exciting! My patio storage space is almost filled to the brink and it's a sight to see. Friends and clients alike are participating in the hunt, emailing or texting when they see downed trees in their areas. I think some are even beginning to share my thrill of the hunt itself, in hopes of finding a tree that can be saved. 

I recently salvaged a very large Pecan tree from East Texas that had to be cut down as it was encroaching on the original owner's home. Due to overall size, the tree had to be cut into two sections: one at 10.5ft long by 25-32" in diameter and the other at 5ft long by 32-43" in diameter. With a bit of ingenuity, or mostly luck, my buddy and I loaded the 1000+ pound logs onto a trailer and hauled them back to my shop. Upon arrival, I had reinforcements waiting to help unload these beasts.

Using our same ingenuity, a lot of man power, and one sturdy old Ford, we unloaded both logs into the yard for milling. The process was a sight to see! Even the neighbors stopped to watch and get a little afternoon entertainment.

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New Designs

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                                             Walnut and Red Oak cantilevered coffee table

          Book-matched, live edge Walnut top with Walnut case and sculpted White Oak legs. 

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Humble beginnings

The Gudde Co story begins nearly 50 years ago, from necessity—as almost all good stories do. It began when the Gudde family needed a desk.

My grandfather, Floyd Sr had an unstoppable work ethic, a plan, and a handy helper in his nine-year-old-son (my father). He bartered for the finest solid wood, spending long evenings cleaning a cabinet shop in a cloud of sawdust. It took longer to assemble than the flat-packed, faux-wood desks you see today and it was hard work. But the desk came together.

Growing up I loved this desk for different reasons than I do today. I cared far more about the contents stored within those drawers, than the hard work invested or the craftsmanship itself. This was the place I tracked my childhood hero, Mark McGwire, on his quest to break the all-time home run record. Back then, it was just a desk.

That same desk is still standing today, after 50 years of daily use by three generations of Gudde's. The desk my grandfather and young father built together. It is stronger and more beautiful than ever!

Gudde Co exists because of this desk. It's why I build handmade furniture. It’s why I work tirelessly to source only the best wood. It’s why your Gudde Co furniture will serve your family faithfully as it grows, as this desk has served mine.

It seems I also built a chair, by pure happenstance, that matches the desk beautifully.

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Urban Logging - a new adventure

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Urban Logging - a new adventure!

It's long been a dream of mine to start urban logging and about four weeks ago that dream became a reality! For those that don't know, urban logging is the salvage of trees from urban environments due to storm damage, construction, and tree disease or death. Salvaging trees after removal prevents the logs from being thrown away in the landfill or turned into firewood and mulch, allowing me to secure one of a kind pieces for extremely unique furniture.

My start into urban logging began with the opportunity to salvage and mill two trees in the Austin area: a Live Oak tree in North Austin and a Pecan tree on the East side.

Live Oak is considered by many to be the pride and joy of central Texas, due to its unique arching branches that spread outward and rest on the ground! This specific Live Oak tree was cataloged and registered as a Heritage tree of Austin due to it's age and size. The tree had sadly been dead for a few years and needed to be removed from the property. Understanding the beauty and value of this tree the homeowner put an ad on Craigslist in hopes the cut logs would be saved from the landfill or being cut into firewood. I responded to that ad and coordinated with a local sawmill to cut these logs into useable slabs. 

The process was amazing! I was immediately hooked on the urban logging philosophy and wanted an economical way to start milling myself. After researching different milling options I bought an Alaskan sawmill and Stihl chainsaw to have my own portable mill. 

Shortly after getting my sawmill, I was contacted about a dead Pecan tree cut down in East Austin. Pecan is the state tree of Texas and an often sought after wood option for many locals. I was happy to take my new chainsaw and Alaskan sawmill to the tree and start cutting it into slabs. For my first time milling, the process was more physical and time consuming than I expected. But I loved every minute and cannot wait to use the slabs I salvaged!

The philosophy of urban logging is a slow-play, long-term investment that will in time be extremely beneficial not only to myself but to the clients who will give these trees new life in their homes for years to come. I want to do my part to salvage as many trees as I can to prevent them from being thrown away and highlight their beauty in pieces of furniture.

To see more photos and videos my recent milling process, visit this post!

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Recently Delivered Pieces

These beautiful pieces were delivered to their new home a few weeks ago and are already being well loved! The desk has a live edge solid Walnut top with a cantilever Walnut base. The entry table has a 2" thick live edge Cherry top with a welded steel frame and Cherry shelf. 

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Live Edge Walnut Desk with cantilever base

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Live Edge Cherry Entry Table with 2" top and welded steel base

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Urban Logging In Austin, Texas.

Urban logging is the salvage of trees from urban environments due to storm damage, construction, and death. Salvaging trees after removal prevents the logs from being thrown in the landfill or turned into firewood and mulch, allowing me to secure one of a kind pieces for extremely unique furniture.

The philosophy of urban logging is a slow-play, long term investment that will in time be extremely beneficial not only to myself but to the clients who will give these trees new life in their homes for years to come. I want to do my part to salvage as many trees as I can to prevent them from being thrown away and highlight their beauty in pieces of furniture.

I chose to cut very thick slabs to ensure that after the drying process (6-12 months in may cases) they are thick enough to be flattened and used for large tables and desks. After a log is milled into slabs it needs to air dry for as long as possible before going into a low heat dehumidifier kiln. Once in the kiln it can take anywhere from 8-12 weeks for the moisture to leave the wood and be ready for use in the furniture building process.

Scroll below to see photos and videos of my recent milling experience!

Milling a Live Oak tree in North Austin

Dane milling a Pecan tree in East Austin

Uploaded by Gudde Co. on 2016-07-18.

Dane milling the smaller of the two Pecan logs.

Do you have or know of trees coming down in the Austin area?
Send me an email and I will come salvage them!

Old Growth Honduras Mahogany

Mahogany has always been regarded as the “wood of royalty” due to its rich, deep color, figuring, and luxurious feel.  Since the early 1700’s Mahogany has been harvested and shipped all over the world to build heirloom furniture for just about any occasion. One of the most treasured and demanded species of Mahogany is Honduran Mahogany. This wood is especially prized when it can be cut from “old growth” trees, displaying highly figured and beautiful grain patterns and colors. An old growth tree is a tree that has been growing in an undisturbed forrest and has reached great age. Nature does amazing things to the inside of an old growth tree, which made them the target of the logging industry for centuries. This caused over harvesting, so much so that old grown trees are heavily protected today. 

Mahogany logs awaiting the rainy season.

From as early as the 1700s to the 1940s Honduran Mahogany was the target tree of the loggers in Belize. The old growth trees were harvested during the dry seasons, hauled to the banks of the closest river, that fed to the ocean, and tossed in to await the rainy season. Due to the sheer size of the trees, floating them down the river was the most efficient way to transport them to the ocean. Honduran Mahogany was harvested in mass quantities, resulting in rivers that were filled to the max with trees waiting for the water level to rise enough to float them out to sea. As a result of the overloaded rivers, it’s estimated that only half of the harvested trees made it to the ships.  The other half would be lost to the bottom of the rivers, sunken somewhere along the way. This was of no concern to the loggers, as they were concerned with quantity and didn’t have the means or time to recover the sunken logs. So from the 1700’s to the 1940’s this same process of logging Honduras Mahogany continued.

In the early 2000’s these sunken mahogany trees were finally discovered, presenting unbelievable possibilities. Since the rediscovery of these old growth treasures, slowly but surely these trees are being salvaged from the rivers they’ve lied in for hundreds of years, and cut into lumber. This presents an amazing opportunity to woodworkers. The quantity still yet to be recovered in the rivers of Belize is massive, as no one is certain how much lies at the bottom of these rivers. The lumber coming from these sunken trees is no longer in regular circulation and is extremely rare. One cannot simply cut down trees today that this lumber is coming from.

River salvaging the sunken logs. (Photo courtesy of Greener Lumber LLC)

I was fortunate enough to come in to some of this material. The sheer fact that I am working with wood that is hundreds of years old is surreal. Today’s trees, which are plantation grown for only 20-40 years, cannot compare to the unique figuring and deep rich color that this old growth lumber exudes.  I feel a great responsibility to honor this wood’s heritage and story by making it in to pieces of furniture that will last long past my time.  To know that this wood was centuries old when harvested, sunk and lay dormant in a river, waiting to be salvaged again hundreds of years later isn’t something I take lightly.  

Each log that is salvaged from a river is given a number to catalog and try and date these treasures.  Included in each piece I make will be the log number the piece was salvaged from as well as the date in which my piece was completed, and the product number in my catalog.  

Each piece I make from these sunken treasures will be unique to the trees they came from, and will have a heritage that many other pieces will not have.  They carry on a history, lost to time,  and it is my duty to steward that piece into a piece of furniture that will live on.   

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Book Matched Mahogany from Log #588

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Mahogany set from Log #490

Milling My Own Lumber. A Roller Coaster Ride Of Emotion.

In December of 2013, I purchased my first bandsaw! I didn't really know what I would use a bandsaw for on a daily basis, but I knew for certain that I needed one.  I took advantage of Grizzly’s year end sale and got their 14” G0555LANV. 

I was stoked! I didn’t actually have projects lined up out the door to put this puppy to work, but I knew it would be an essential part of the shop eventually.   I now use my bandsaw several times a week, if not daily.  Things like ripping rough lumber down to 8” wide so it fits on my jointer, or most importantly, book matching all of my really thick stock I work with. 

Grizzly G0555LANV

In my YouTube Training prior to purchasing the bandsaw, I stumbled across a Woodworkers Guild of America video teaching how to mill your own lumber on a bandsaw.  The idea of taking green lumber and cutting it down to useable pieces of wood sounded awesome.  Sounded like something I would love to do, so I did even more research.  I was also on the hunt for any green logs that I could get my hands on.  

Right after I decided I wanted to mill my own lumber, Laura and I made the annual trip to OKC to visit her parents.  Turned out that, as luck would have it, her Dad had a lead on some trees that were scheduled to be cut down while we were there!  They were on the property of their church, and the church was expanding and going to chop them down and trash them.  The trees we cut down were American Elm trees, and yielded an entire “Corolla Trunk Load” full.  These are the freshly cut logs: 

American Elm Logs

American Elm

Once I got back to the shop after the trip it was time to turn these green logs into lumber.  I cut the logs down into the maximum size widths that each piece would yield. After they were cut, I painted the ends of each newly formed piece of wood to seal the end grain and prevent the pieces from splitting as they’re drying. Once painted, you "sticker", or place spacers between each piece to allow for max airflow, and stack them. 

Milled Pieces

Painted Ends

Bookmatched Pieces

Stickered & Stacked

Once stacked, then it's just a waiting game.  The rule of thumb is 1 year of air drying for every inch of thickness.  Since I cut them into 1" pieces I only had to wait a year to be able to use these!  It has been a total of 15 months and I am now able to use them. 

Here are some first pieces shots of what this beautiful wood looks like.  I love the contrast between the sapwood and the heart.  Worth the 15 month wait! 

With this Elm dry and ready to work, I have started making a few smaller projects.  The first being a set of drink coasters.  Because I use an all natural, oil based finish, there needs to be preventative measures taken to ensure the beauty of the table remains.  As with most finishes they will develop ring stains when glasses are too hot or too cold for the surface, it was only right that I make coasters for all of my tables.  These are the first of many to come!

Major Sapwood

Heartwood

Set of 4 Coasters

Coaster Detail