Artisan Review

Just outside the quiet mountain town of Kaslo, British Columbia lives Brodie Whitney, a skilled carpenter with more than a small dose of creativity. Brodie creates handcrafted furniture that works with the natural shapes of wood to transform it into what he likes to call "funk"tional furniture. His range of completed items includes beds, tables, stool, chairs, end tables, coffee tables, desks, children's houses and much more. I've had the opporunity to visit his studio and watch him work and the process he uses to construct his furniture is fascinating. First he goes out to harvest his building materials. These are nearly all found in the forests near his home. Viewing a forest through his eyes is a unique experience and he's deeply in touch with the soul of the varieties of wood he uses.

This first site I want to share with you is, quite naturally, my own site. It is obviously pretty impossible to write an unbiased review of your own work but I did want to introduce myself and let you know what I do when I'm not reviewing the work of other artisans.

My medium is lampwork borosilicate glass and my passion is wearable art. I've been involved with lampwork glass since 1996 when I had my first opportunity to work on a torch and create some glass beads. It didn't take long until I had found someone to teach me the basics and show me the way to operate a torch properly. After just a couple months of rudimentary instruction I had learned enough to branch out on my own and develop a unique personal style. I work with borosilicate glass because of the organic color variations that are available in this kind of glass. I also value the high strength of this type of glass as it really makes a difference when creating glass jewelry items that can be exposed to impact while being worn.