After multiple layoffs from oil and gas construction jobs, an Edmonton man is going in another direction, building and designing furniture pieces made from discounted lumber.
Christopher Bahris started Sustainable Custom Creations a few months ago. He builds bookshelves, stools, planters, benches and tables made from cull lumber, which is sold at a discount price because of knots, imperfections or previous cuts.
Bahris will be showcasing his “recycled collection” when he hosts the Recycled Roadshow at The Buckingham today, March 3, from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. The event will feature performances by musicians Sean Brewer and Sonny Mac.
“Once the price of oil tanked it was super hot and cold and just unreliable,” Bahris said. “So it led me to start looking for new things and I really was aspiring to be a part of the solution instead of part of the problem.”
Last summer he found himself picking up woodworking and renovation jobs. While he was getting lumber for one of those jobs, he found himself looking through a pile of cull lumber outside a hardware store.
“I built a couple projects and it kind of inspired me,” Bahris said. “What else could I do with this recycled wood? I started doing designs and here we are.”
Bahris was looking to save the imperfect pieces of wood from the trash or a fire pit. It helped that the wood was an affordable material that would keep the cost of his designs lower.
“I found it impossible to do projects for friends that were affordable. Wood these days is extremely expensive and this gave me an opportunity to offer an affordable price to my friends, something they could actually buy and feel good about.”
He was hoping to feature 30 designs for the show, but as he’s building them by himself he’s had to make more of his tombstone-shaped shelves, which he says are a popular item.
Bahris hopes more people will start to look through the cull lumber pile to design things.
“You’ve just kind of got to account for the fact that you’re going to have imperfect pieces or some deficiencies and plan ahead.”