WABI SABI

Wabi Sabi is a very old Japanese ideology that we feel a strong connection with because of the type of timber that we love to use on one hand, ie timbers that have many imperfections that we refer to generally as  'character' and the fact that the oiled finish that goes on most of the timber tables made by us, allows the table to age nicely and develop a beautiful 'worn look' over the years. As opposed to a normal coated finish on tables which after a few years starts to look a bit the worse for wear,  in other words it ages badly.  
Wabi Sabi can be described in many ways and it can relate to many different things. Here is one of the better descriptions of Wabi Sabi found online recently;

"Wabi Sabi is the Japanese art of finding beauty in imperfection and profundity in nature, of accepting the natural cycle of growth, decay and death. It's simple, slow, and uncluttered and it reveres authenticity above all. It celebrates cracks and crevices and all other marks that time, weather, and loving use leave behind. It reminds us that we are all transient beings on this planet- that our bodies as well as the material world around us are in the process of returning to the dust from which they came." - Wabi Sabi Concept

This beautiful description clearly demonstrates Wabi Sabi as being a recognition and an appreciation of character and uniqueness over a shiny and false façade'.'There's beauty to imperfection'. It's very much tied in with the reasons why so many people love to buy antiques or furniture that has had many years of use, or interesting old bric a brac; these items ooze of history. It's also tied in with the recent look in fashion where some clothes have a very worn look when brand new. Many of us can relate to owning a favourite pair of old jeans that have a few holes here and there or shaggy bits hanging off them, they are treasured far more than a new pair.

Our strong connection with and love of the Wabi Sabi concept is clearly evident in many of our pieces of furniture. We love making furniture from wood that has 'imperfections' and character so that the item that is being created from it has character.
We celebrate imperfections in wood by highlighting them. We source our timbers from trees in our rural landscape that have been blown over in a windstorm or have had to be legally removed from a rural or urban environment. Many of these trees have had a very tough life in a harsh environment. This is evidenced in the wood within the tree that we use to make furniture from, the tree might have been living for 400 to 500 years or more and has witnessed so much in that time. Or the timber we use might be recycled from an old building somewhere. Recycled timber often has a combination of natural imperfections and what we call recycled character such as nail and bolt holes. We leave as much of this character in the piece being created as is practical to allow. In other words we don't leave big open cracks or holes in the top where fluids can run into nor do we leave a rough texture on the surface.

Our dining tables are finished in such a way that allows the table to build and create a beautiful patina over many years of daily use instead of it gradually looking the worse for wear over time. The difference  is in the finish applied to the surface, when you sit at a dining table made by Eclipse you're in contact with natural wood and not a plastic coating over the top.

Furniture created by Eclipse Handcrafted Furniture is 'furniture with soul'.

See our Wabi Sabi Pintrest Board for more Wabi Sabi inspiration.

- Blog written by Ross Triffitt - Managing Director of Eclipse Handcrafted Furniture