Featuring the Artists of "One One Eleven Designs" and a Giveaway!
You are likely wondering what is "One One Eleven Designs" and what do they do? What they do is great...fantastic even...One One Eleven Designs is a local, family run business that creates clean, simple, one of a kind pieces of furniture and accessories, designed specifically for your home, using salvaged wood and reclaimed barn board.
The creative minds behind this unique and environmentally conscious business belong to husband and wife duo, Chris Chapman and Aimee Listar (often recruiting the help of their little girl, Avery)...Aimee and Chris strive to design and create quality, timeless pieces for your living space using old fashioned techniques and craftsmanship passed down by Aimee's beloved Grandfather, Carl Young.
Aimee grew up spending her summers on her Grandparent's farm in Tillsonburg, Ontario, toddling around the golf course at a young age with her Grandpa or proudly working at his elbow, helping him in his wood shop. Aimee's Grandfather was a retired school Principal that spent his days working away in his shop, teaching Aimee everything he knew about his passion for wood working and cabinet making and instilling his values for quality and craftsmanship. "One One Eleven Designs" is a tribute to the memory of her Grandfather, who sadly passed away September 11, 2007 at 11 am (hence the name "One One Eleven"). Each handmade piece of furniture and home accessory that Aimee, Chris and Avery create, would certainly make Carl proud today.
Chris and Aimee strive to give each client a "back to the basics" experience when purchasing one of their pieces and will sit down with a potential buyer, getting acquainted with their interior decor style and living space limitations. While Chris handles the technical and math end of things, Aimee will sketch out blueprints by hand allowing each customer to know exactly what they are purchasing.
Each unique piece of furniture is made exclusively from salvaged wood and reclaimed barn board. Chris and Aimee work with a local Arborist using trees that have been felled for subdivisions or from natural disasters such as ice storms or from old bank barns being torn down. Walnut, Elm, Cherry, Butternut and Ash trees that would have been destined for the wood chipper, are now milled and kiln dried to 6-8% moisture content by a local mill.
Both Chris and Aimee have full time jobs outside of the home, so it is quite convenient to have their wood shop in their garage to work on projects during the evenings and on weekends. On an unrelated note, how come Aimee can still look pretty in work clothes? It doesn't work for me!!
Working on an order for a Walnut dining table, Aimee painstakingly sands the wood to a velvet finish. New state of the art electric and her Grandfather's hand tools are what you will find in their wood shop...the same tools that her Grandpa taught her to use to make a true handmade product!
Chris works along side his wife, turning wood into pieces of art...he not only is the technical guy with fantastic math skills (what is it with guys and math...and directions for that matter...how do they do it?!), but he is the mastermind behind the custom cut and welded pipe, steel or black powder coated frames or "hairpin" legs for tables and benches.
Beautiful pieces of wood, with natural grain and knots are made into tables and benches with the raw edges left intact for a rustic look...
... and round log slices are crafted into end tables with custom pipe frames.
Original weathered barn boards are used to make handy, one of a kind coat racks...
...while beams from an old barn, are transformed into fireplace mantels, adding natural beauty to your living room.
Absolutely nothing is wasted in Aimee and Chris's wood shop...bits of scrap wood are used to burn in their wood stove, shavings are spread on flower beds and end pieces are turned into sturdy cutting boards and stylish serving platters.
...and speaking of serving platters!! I am giving away this one of a kind "One One Eleven Designs", serving platter!
This custom made platter is solid walnut with the "One One Eleven Designs" logo embossed on the end...
...and a unique hand crafted handle!
Giveaway Rules
1. Simply type in your first name (with or without a comment, and your email address in the space provided below your name) in the comments box at the bottom of this page. Your email address will not be made public...only I can see it providing you don't add your email to the box where your name or comment goes.
2. If you do not enter an email address, your entry will not be considered as it is necessary for me to contact the winner.
3. You do not need to be a subscriber to win, anyone may enter.
4. The winner will be randomly drawn on Saturday May 21st, 2016...the winner will be contacted by email for further shipping details.
5. Good luck!!
6. Only one entry per person, thanks! :)
7. ...and finally, this is my first giveaway, so I hope I don't screw it up! :)
These serving platters are not only handy to display meats, cheeses and fruits...
...but they add a rustic flare to any party or gathering no matter how big or small, don't ya think?
If you would like any further information about the artistry of "One One Eleven Designs", click the link below to visit their website:
*WINNER of the walnut serving platter giveaway (drawn Saturday, May 21, 2016) is,
JULIA WALSH...congratulations Julia! *