" Life in Wood "
Hello. My name is Rich Beaudry, I'm a woodcarver and Beauhaven Woodworking is my personal passion -- that's why I decided to change this website to a first person record. I create unique designs and shapes in wood including custom furniture, woodcarvings, wood sculpture, and living concepts. All work sold is designed and created by me here at Beauhaven. All my sculpture and carvings are original. Almost exclusively, I use non-motorized hand tools -- the few experimental exceptions with a new carver are specifically noted.
The Beauhaven Woodworking site was last updated on 4/4/2012.
(I'm re-writing the original Beauhaven website as a personal account since woodworking has now becvome a personal endeavor rather than spceifially a business. Sections are changin as completed as well as being updated with new work. -Rich)
Click on the thumbnail images for samples or see Pictorial Index or visit our Photo Gallery for complete details.
The Beauhaven Philosophy Custom Work
Customers ask for wood sculpture, gifts, carvings, furnishings for home and office, desks, headboards, art, crafts, clocks, wall hangings, heirlooms, display bowls and dishes, trays, games and game boards, boxes, tables, benches, curio cabinets and other custom woodwork including cabinets, chests, doors, window and door framing, work stations, audio and video units, racks, and shelving.
Visit our shop/studio near Pittsboro, NC, at 821 Buteo Ridge, 10 - 5 most weekdays.
If you'd like to learn more, you can check out A View of Beauhaven . I seldom do shows any longer, but you can have a look at some of the earlier Show Photos .
A hallmark of handcrafted art is the huge time investment required. Custom orders and commissioned work will require 6 - 8 weeks minimum simply to complete. Please be assured that I will complete all orders accepted in the most reasonable time possible and will provide updates and digital photographs to customers as work progresses.
Customized orders which might be resold require a minimum, non-refundable 10% deposit. Commissioned work with specific unique or personalized requirements, require a non-refundable 50% down payment and an additional 25% before finish work begins -- the final 25% due on delivery.. Customers will be provided regular status on work in progress as well as have opportunities for review and adjustment on commissioned work.
Beauhaven is a real place nestled in the rugged hills of the ancient Haw River gorge (now a hilly jumble of ridges falling toward the river). Beauhaven embodies the slogan "Life in Wood" which is a wordplay expressing what I think Beauhaven Woodworking is all about. First of all, every piece of wood has a life and beauty of it's own. That beauty may be obvious or hidden within the piece, behind a worn or weathered appearance or just buried under dirt and decay. It's my task to discover and display it. Secondly, and fundamental to expressing the feeling of Beauhaven Woodworking is the idea of "earthforms" -- concepts implemented in wood but derived from basic natural processes and from human relationships. My goal is to evoke emotion and feelings of space, structure or movement that you might find in the Earth's forests, deserts, plains, mountains or seas (or perhaps in the natural universe as seen from Earth). The only boundaries are only those of my imagination and dreams. Throughout the carving and finishing process, the life and beauty of the wood itself is the guiding force that produces the final work. I'm always looking for ways to exploit features of wood grain, texture and color.
Here at Beauhaven, I produce my own custom designs in carvings, sculpture and furnishings -- no work is done from commercial patterns. Furniture designs are created with pencil, graph paper and (most often with SketchUp by Google. All woodcarvings and sculpture are completely hand-crafted with carving gouges, scrapers and/or sandpaper. Power tools are used only for initial major waste removal (see Carving Process). (I also do some experimentation with powered carving/sanding tools looking for means to improve my work. Any new pieces made like this are clearly identified.) Each wood component in any assembly is hand-worked and fitted so that it enhances the overall concept. Favorite woods are those found in the local forests that surround Beauhaven -- black walnut, cherry, oak, and birch.
Beauhaven carvings and sculpture are signed with the initials below and the year completed :
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