The story of the Devon Oak Bed begins with the planting of a humble acorn over a century ago.
The Devon Oak Bed perfectly encompasses our motto of 'Made by hand in Devon'. From the planting of the acorn over one hundred years ago to the final coat of oil, the wood used for the Devon Oak Bed has not once left our home county of Devon. Until we deliver it to you, that is.
Step One: Planting the Seed
Step Two: Sourcing & Seasoning
In the uplands of North Devon sits a small, family-run sawmill - UK Hardwoods. Their team have been sourcing and producing artisan joinery timber for over forty years, only ever using wood grown in the UK.
Second-generation owners Tom and Polly are devoted to preserving the traceability of all timber produced, only using hardwood grown in the family’s own managed woodland and from certified British woodland and estates such as Pentillie.
When an area of Pentillie's woodland is felled, the trees are brought to the roadside and Tom is invited to inspect them. After a process of grading, specific trees are chosen for their individual merits and are brought by road to the mill in North Devon. We spoke to Tom and Polly about the milling process during a recent visit.
"When sourcing the timber for a Devon Oak Bed, we'd be looking for bigger, better and cleaner trees" Tom says. We learned that there is a definite seasonality to the milling process: "The trees are sawn around September. We don't want to saw them earlier as they would dry out too quickly."
"The trees are sawn into two, three and four inch planks, which are stacked in this area to be air-dried until they reach a moisture content level of 20% - this typically takes around four years." The area Tom is referring to is a large drying shed at the bottom of the yard, which houses towering stacks of wood with varying moisture content levels.
"The wood is then brought up to our heated climate-chamber sheds at the top of the yard, where Polly takes the helm." The 'top shed' is a climate-controlled storage shed, constructed entirely from glued and laminated (Glulam) larch wood with sheep's wool insulation. The entire project took place within a 27-mile radius, and resulted in the world's largest UK grown Glulam structure.
"When the wood arrives here, it goes straight to the back of the shed where it is allowed to further dry until it reaches a moisture content of around 10%." The wood has to be brought inside for this process, Polly says, as the climate outside is simply too unpredictable. When the wood reaches the final moisture content of 10% it is ready to be hand-chosen by Bob, our Master Joiner.
"The mill is open two days a week for customers to come in and personally sort through the oak boards, choosing specific pieces for their grain or shape to suit the job they'll be used for." Polly continues - "You can really then pick the boards you want for the furniture you're making. Each piece on the Devon Oak Bed has been chosen by someone here in our climate shed."
Step Three: The Joinery Process
