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A couple from the United Kingdom is growing trees into furniture that does not need any carpentry.
Gavin /ˈgæv ɪn/ and Alice Munro from Derbyshire /ˈdɜr biˌʃɪər/, England, are training trees to take the shape of furniture pieces.
The Munros make their furniture by growing young tree branches over specially made frames. Currently, they have frames for chairs, tables, and lamps. Once the branches grow into the shape, they are nurtured until they mature. Then, the resulting piece of furniture is harvested and dried. The whole process usually takes four to nine years on average, depending on the type of furniture. Because of the complex process, the couple’s creations are sold from around $1,120 to $15,600.
Gavin’s childhood experiences inspired him to create furniture this way. The concept of furniture that does not need to be built first came to him when he saw a bonsai tree that looked like a chair. On the other hand, the idea of shaping tree branches with special frames was inspired by his experience growing up with a curved spine. He had to wear a metal frame to help straighten his back, similar to how he shapes tree branches with frames.
He first started experimenting with the idea in 2006. Then, six years later, Gavin founded the company Full Grown with his wife, seeing it as a solution to the non-eco-friendly process of cutting down trees and manufacturing them to create furniture.
The couple’s long-term goal is to buy a farm where they can hold experiments. They also want to start a consultancy service and share their knowledge of creating unique furniture.