Dutch Elm Disease in the UK - Using effected timber to make lasting furniture.
In the late 1960’s Dutch Elm Disease was imported from Canada and has since killed millions of UK Elm trees. The disease is transferred by Elm Bark Beetles carrying fungus spores which contain toxins that block the trees water transport system. It’s also passed on to healthy trees via root systems. The Bark Beetles tunnel into effected trees and lay larvae, the larvae then feed on the trunk, picking up the fungus spores on the way out. Which they then pass on to unaffected trees when feeding on their twigs.
The decaying of the tree has caused these cavaties and undulations. Details I’ve tried to honour while designing and making this most recent piece, made from various offcuts that were destined to be ‘waste’.
Elms are a valuable asset to the landscape, not only for beauty but also for habitat and support of many other species. They have reportedly been through multiple periods of decline for thousands of years due to farming and other diseases, but have always managed to return. We hope that they’ll return stronger than ever, as they are such gorgeous trees which also produce amazing timber.
