Hi, my name is Albert de Bruijn and I am a woodworker.
My wife and I have lived in Woodland for over 30 years and its slogan “city of trees” is really meaningful to me. My interest in woodworking started when I was a kid. Watching and helping my dad build things out of wood instilled that passion in me. Over the years, my woodworking progressed from making things around the house, to helping my own kids establish themselves in their homes, to making toys for the grandkids and now, to creating more artistic items.
Ideally, I make these pieces from locally sourced wood. You will often find me out and about with my chainsaw after a storm, looking for trees and limbs that came down in the storm. I think of myself as “saving” the wood these trees took so long to grow! Instead of letting that wood be used as firewood, I give it new life by turning it into beautiful pieces that will last a lifetime. I have found Walnut, Oak, Modesto Ash, Birch, Pine, American Sycamore, even Olive in my many outings like this. My wife graciously lets me dry this wood in our backyard, a process that can take a year or two before the wood is dry enough to turn into something beautiful and useful.
I have now started to sell my work right here on Main Street, at Local Inspirations. I love the idea of making things from wood grown locally here in Woodland and offering it back to the people of Woodland. I hope my pieces will find a place in your home and that it gives you as much pleasure as I had making it.
Albert