A feature of my work in the Sunday Times

This article by Craig Jacobs below appeared in today’s Sunday Times.  Click here for the original article on their website

A farmer trained in viticulture is using sustainable methods to produce a great range of furniture. By Craig Jacobs

 

You’re conscious of not leaving your phone charger plugged into the wall socket, your fridge is stocked with organic goodies sourced from a whole-food market, and that car in the garage is a hybrid.

You’re so proudly green that the ozone layer should be ululating. But what about those parquet floors in your lounge? How eco-friendly is your entrance door, those kitchen cupboards, the headboard for your bed and that entertainment unit for your TV?

If we subscribe to the belief that, for the planet to survive, we need to reduce our carbon footprint, and to do so we need to plant more trees, are we not offsetting all those good intentions by forking out dough for fancy wooden furnishings and the basic housing infrastructure without which our abodes would collapse?

Furnishings maker David Krynauw pooh-poohs those sentiments, pointing out that salvaged wood and planks sourced from carefully managed tree felling doesn’t harm the environment, it actually enhances it.

“A hectare of land can produce 30 tonnes and the 40 hectares of plantations produce 1200 cubic metres of wood a year and when cut into planks, the yield is half that. Divide that by 352 days and you come up with around 1.72 cubic metres of wood – enough to produce about six tables or 88 standard chairs.

“And because one tree alone can produce 1.72 cubic metres of plank, if you plant one tree for every one chopped down, in 25 years’ time a new tree has grown back in its place,” he explains.

Krynauw is explaining the reasoning that is used on his family farm, Madola, which lies near Piet Retief in Mpumalanga and which was set up by his father about a decade ago when he decided to give up the city lights for a less harried existence.

Madola spans 144ha of land, includes a wood-pulping mill and follows biological farming (a practice which concentrates on ensuring that the soil is enriched to achieve the greatest possible yield).

Felled trees play an important part of that cycle – the waste from cutting planks is turned into mulch and compost, which is used to fertilise the soil, making it a verdant source of nutrition for the berries they plant and the goats that graze there.

“If the balance in the soil is right, you are creating a healthy environment which feeds the plants that provide food for the animals,” Krynauw explains. “My furniture fits into that cycle.”

One can’t help but think that this is novel for a furniture designer – not only has Krynauw guaranteed his supply chain because his raw materials are right around him, but he’s made it sustainable simply by planting a tree for every half-dozen tables he produces.

His business is supplemented by his Piet Retief neighbours, who call on the Krynauws every time they need a tree felled. In this way he is able to add a variety of grains to his pieces.

“It was never really a part of me to be sustainable – I just realised that so much waste was going around – it is great taking something that someone has thrown away and turning it into something beautiful.”

Beautiful, in a simple organic way, is the best description of what Krynauw does.

His long-legged bench in white oak, with its dark kiaat legs, looks fluid and inviting while the grain of his square kiaat dining table make it so striking that it’s a shame to hide it beneath a cloth.

But it is his supple light fittings – the pendant chandelier and the Littleman lamp – which are most enthralling in their simple beauty.

Both are made from salvaged jacaranda, because the wood is soft and doesn’t break easily, and their creation happened by chance.

“I started exploring how thin I could turn the wood, and that is how I came up with the idea of making lampshades,” he explains. “Jacaranda is an invasive species – it is readily available – and the wood is also very stable, meaning it doesn’t crack.”

While growing up, Krynauw’s love of wood came from his dad, a hobbyist carpenter, but he decided to study wine-making, completing a BSc in agriculture, concentrating on viticulture, at Stellenbosch.

Although he landed work in wine-making both locally and in California, he continued to make furniture, even while at college. A couple of years ago he decided to move to his parents’ farm to concentrate on his real passion.

His background in viticulture has been channeled into the family’s approach to farming. But it is his furniture and lighting that is attracting interest.

“A lot of it is intuitive,” he says of his creative process. “Because I don’t have formal training, I’m in the school of learning.

“I am trying to experiment with materials, to push the boundaries to see what I can come up with. I trust that someone will enjoy my work because I find joy in what I am doing.

“In our modern society, we seldom get the chance to question whether what we are doing is something that truly brings fulfilment. While exploring the art of woodwork I discovered the perfect way to express myself.”