Mark Newton Custom Woodcraft on the road!!!

On Wednesday July 16th 2014, I went to Solvang, a picturesque Danish town in the Santa Ynes Valley with my father in law.

Whilst we were there we had a chance to check out a few small craft businesses. Here's what we found.

CALIFORNIA COUNTRY

Based at 1608 Copenhagen Drive, Solvang CA 93463. This place is a gold mine for anyone interested in furniture made by real craftsmen in small quantities or custom built to order. Within these 4 walls you'll find natural/live edged tables and chairs, rustic and modern designer pieces. Items made with great imagination from re-purposed wine barrels and artistic pieces that are simply a feast for the eyes the moment you enter the store. We were greeted by the owner as soon as we arrived and treated to a wealth of information on any piece we were interested enough to ask about. Needless to say we left with a piece of furniture ourselves... A rocking chair made from Mango wood. We learned that back in the day, fruit growers would drive nails made of different metals into the young tree to leach minerals into the wood as the tree aged. This was believed to enhance the fruit... The craftsman who made the chair was able to make a feature of 2 nails he found  hiding inside the wood. What is it I always say... Behind each piece, there's a story... The story of this chair will be told by myself and my father in law for many years to come.


NORDIC KNIVES

We almost walked past this place whilst trying to find a bite to eat and boy are we glad we didn't. Nordic Knives, based at 436 1st Street STE 203A, Solvang, California, 93463 is a treasure trove for knives of all shapes, sizes and types.

Now let me just say that I thought I could look at most things and tell you with a fair degree of confidence how the craftsman made it. Not so in this case, There were knives in this store that you'd swear were made with some sort of alien technology... Either that or just plain witchcraft.

I learned all about the process of creating Damascus steel with other metals like nickel and altering the carbon content to the buyers preferences. There were knives made with obsidian (a volcanic glass), they even have knives with handles made with Mammoth tusk Ivory (nope, not kidding)... See you want to check them out yourself now don't you!

Here, take a look yourself - www.nordicknives.com