One of a series of Blogs as part of a sustainability study course
Sustainability, society and you: The University of Nottingham
In Ireland, The re-emergence of most of the traditional Irish crafts has accelerated in recent years with a huge number of individuals and small businesses re-learning traditional crafts and applying them to products that can be used in our modern life.
See http://www.giveirishcraft.com/
Although not listed on the Give Irish Gifts link, my brother-in law, Paul Moore, is an artist in wood, making everything from small cutting boards to, dining suites, full kitchens and traditional bar fitout. All from native hardwood Irish trees, many of which are the victims of winter storms
His style is pretty unique as he does very little forming, preferring to let the nature of the original tree flow through his pieces. Although Paul could make 20 coffee tables from one tree, each one of those coffee tables is completely unique and cannot be copied.
Click here for full Paul Moore Furniture Design Site
A 400 year old tree being converted to a piece of furniture that will last for up to another 400 years and even then can be used as biodegradable compost for the next tree to take 400 years to grow. Perhaps a definitive description of sustainability