By taking care with the material you use, you respect its special nature. The way it looks, the way it feels to the touch, this is what really shows what it is like.

Like a massive column decorated with delicate foliage, the ash tree, with its straight trunk and its hard wood, is the incarnation of strength and grandeur. The Scandinavians saw it as the world-wood, a pillar of the universe, a link between the underground world and heaven.
Often found on the edge of a property, this precious tree is a loner, which makes using it a rather delicate matter. However, one must do the best one can with what is available locally. The best cuts are used for veneers, joinery and cabinet-making. But most cuts are simply used as firewood.

Through the Elo project, we make the most of ash from the hills of Le Bugey in France’s Ain department. The technique of turning the end-wood reveals its heart. Its growth rings allow us to work out where it came from, its age and the events that have marked its life. In this way we make it into something unique.