Olive wood is a good friend. Exciting yet dependable, soft when you are alone working together but a hard resilient exterior under pressure. If you look after her she will always be there for you. Beautiful undoubtedly, but full of personality and character with that priceless air of mystery.
As you may have gathered I feel rather passionate about Olive wood; this is why...
Beauty- The lively grain exudes quality and style with wild figuring, burr and sometimes even a double pattern. Wild means an irregular grain with unpredictable features. I love the golden colour with deep coffee swirls. The dark lines are from late summer growth where growth is slow; pale yellow is the spring growth.
Long life - Olive wood is from hot countries so it naturally gets thirsty. It is partial to a wee dram of olive oil once in a while. This means the wood matures and improves, darkening with age. It should be doing really well when your children pass it to their grand-children!
Beauty- The lively grain exudes quality and style with wild figuring, burr and sometimes even a double pattern. Wild means an irregular grain with unpredictable features. I love the golden colour with deep coffee swirls. The dark lines are from late summer growth where growth is slow; pale yellow is the spring growth.
Long life - Olive wood is from hot countries so it naturally gets thirsty. It is partial to a wee dram of olive oil once in a while. This means the wood matures and improves, darkening with age. It should be doing really well when your children pass it to their grand-children!
Fine finish - The arid conditions mean slow growth which makes the cell formation extra hard. and the wood very dense. Added to this, a closed grain which stays smooth and you achieve a highly polished finish.
Sustainable and ethical - older boughs are sawn off to encourage new growth with higher olive yield so the timber is just a by product of the olive industry. All productive olive trees have been planted by man and hundreds are replanted every year. I try to only source wood which is being managed using ethical and sustainable methods.
The olive tree, (Olea Europa) - is named after its purpose: oil. Originally from around Palestine, the olive shaped Mediterranean civilisation. The Greek God Athena beat Posidon in a competition by planting an olive which became a symbol of victory for the first Olympians and then of victorious Roman conquerors. Emperor Vespasian recognised the deep sybolic power of the garden of Gethsemane's sacred olive grove; so chopped it down little knowing the olive often represents renewal and hope due to its ability to send out new shoots after it has been damaged. One of these Gethsemane shoots is now the world's oldest olive - 2000 years old.
Today people around the world try to catch up with the tonnes of olive oil imbibed by Italians over the years. it is well known that it even turns the very skin olive in colour. The legendary elixir was said to have allowed Jeanne Calment (the world's oldest women) her 121 years. She used to drink it and rub it into her skin everyday ! Here she is...
