MEET HILL

I’ve been working intensively with wood, leather and steel for nearly forty years. So when I saw an opportunity to save big trees from the chipper (or landfill) and convert them into slabs, it was a compelling prospect.

While power equipment and modern finishes have their place, most of my work is executed entirely by hand and often with tools made a hundred years ago. In my experience, that’s how the most memorable furniture is made. It’s labor-intensive, so I’m one of the few who still work this way. But quality takes time. Little Mountain Woods has been and is a vehicle for crafting functional art that lasts.

Each of our slabs is sourced from tree removal specialists across the metroplex who, like me, recognize the importance of preserving Texas history.

The trees we save are comparative immortals, first sprouted when Texas was just a sparsely populated outpost of Mexico. Each one just an inch of two in diameter when hundreds of acres were happily given to anyone tough or reckless enough to settle here. They reached respectable heights when the open range was cut up with barbed wire, yet they persevered… gaining immense size and strength through another hundred years of drought, flood, bitter cold and desiccating heat that killed off most of their contemporaries.

Like all of us, though, time won out – a freak storm, a thousand indignities from insects or animals, or simple exhaustion – and the end came. Each time we cut another slab, that history is revealed – in the twisted grain, insect trails, ancient barbed wire cutting through heartwood, and miraculous colors. Each slab imperfect, yet better than perfect. It’s hard for me not to be romantic about these trees and the legacy of awesome beauty left from their long lives. Every slab is unique, as is anything made from one. There are dozens to pick from.

If you’d like me to make you a table, bed, bench, entertainment center or desk, we can design it together to ensure you get something really exciting – a touchstone for generations.

You can contact me here. 

Thanks for considering Little Mountain Woods,
Hill