Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/380056
"They always want to know, why did we paint the wood this color?" he says. "We just tell them it's natural." The variety of hardwoods the com- pany carries are popular with everyone from hobbyists and fine craftspeople to contractors and jewelry makers to artists and furniture makers. But they all seem to be "wood people" who appreciate the plethora of unique and different patterns, colors, knotholes, and textures that the boards boast, Steve says. And because every piece of wood has different properties, people use them for different applications. Although the most popular woods are Yankee Pine's main- stays, such as walnut, cherry, maple, and birch, which people use for things like floo - ing and kitchen cabinets, Righteous Woods can provide boards for nearly any purpose. "Everybody likes something diffe - ent," notes Steve. "It really depends on what the customer is trying to do. Are they trying to do rustic? Are they trying to do elegant? Are they trying to do country?" Some of the boards "are big enough to be a tabletop for a dining room table," says Bob. Other colored woods are popu- lar with artists, who might craft polychro- matic bowls or pieces of jewelry. People also use the more exotic woods to make everything from pipes to knife handles to gunstocks to furniture to boats. "Most people come in to try and fin the color and size for whatever they're trying to do," Bob says. For instance, he points to Harvard University, which houses conference tables crafted out of his company's African rosewood, also known as Bubinga. But it's not only boards that Righteous Woods carries; it also stocks burls, which are large knots that grow outwardly from trees, creating spots that bulge out of the tree's grain to form sometimes wild and gnarly shapes. Although these burls are essentially deformities, they are extreme- Business ne 44 nshoremag.com October 2014 ly prized by artists and furniture makers, who love them for their shapes, patterns, and rare beauty. Steve has nicknamed Righteous Woods the "Burl Den" because of these gorgeous gifts of nature, which the company might cut into slices, chop into blocks, or simply leave intact. Furni- ture makers could use them to create a tabletop, or artists might turn one on a lathe to make fantastic, natural-edged bowls, vases, urns, or other décor. Inside, smaller burls are stacked or strewn on the floor, and outside, behind the Righteous Woods building, are burls so big and untamed-looking they seem as though the store couldn't contain them. "Some of this stuff is fantastic look- ing," Bob says. "Wood people" revel in walking through the sweet-smelling Righteous Woods, exploring the different boards from around the world and admiring the burls. As one recent customer murmured to himself as he wandered among the rows of woods, searching for a single, large board for a boat seat, "I love this place." righteouswoods.com Worldly Woods: Steve and Bob King receive shipments from regions in Central and South America, India, and Africa.