My love affair with wood began when I was very young. I would watch my dad tackle various projects in his spare time, such as building his own kitchen cabinets or shelving for a customer in Manhattan. He was a chemist by day and a father, husband and carpenter by night. I was fortunate enough to be able to join him at work, either at his full-time job or in the evenings when he was trying to make some extra money to support his family. I loved watching him create beautiful and functional pieces from nature’s bounty. The best part of all, besides being Dads “best helper”, was box of scraps left over for me to collect and cart home. I would pick up a scrap and see in it what needed to be created. Then I would sit down and carve and whittle for hours. I can recall making robots in the 3rd grade. Gigantor the Robot, from the Japanese cartoon was my most treasured. The sense of accomplishment I felt looking at that robot fueled my desire to pursue a life where my talents would bring joy to others by utilizing natural materials to create works of art.
My hobby grew into a vocation through necessity. As the second oldest of six children, and the oldest boy, I was responsible for many of the major household projects and chores. When I was in the ninth grade we moved into my grandmother’s home, which was a one-floor, 700sf home with an unfinished, above ground basement. My dad decided to finish the basement by converting it to a living room, dining room and kitchen. These renovations, and the fact that we decide to forgo typical forced air heat (since the unit was broken) for a wood-burning stove, required wood. And lots of it. I set out into the miles of forest behind our home to gather the wood that would become the walls of our new living space and the fuel to heat it. I became very efficient at falling trees and organizing my siblings to carry the cut wood from the forest to the house. This was hard work but I loved everything aspect of it, from picking the right tree to harvesting it correctly so that we could build with it and keep up with the demands of that old, but beautifully efficient, wood-burning stove.
The true birth of Edmund Terrence occurred during my junior year in college when I covered an entire room with 1” x 12” pine boards complete with closets, doors and a desk for a friend. I was so impressed with my creation I snuck my parents in to see it when they came to visit me at college. They wondered when I had the time to do my schoolwork! But they beamed with love when they felt the spirit and energy that came from the space now that it was cloaked in the wood I had harvested.
I will never forget the feeling (and energy and smell and warmth) the wood brought to the room. It was so much more than a “look”. It was the feel. It was…spiritual.
Years later I started doing renovations full time and slowly, through each project, I found my own sense of style, design and spirit. I used all natural materials at a time when man-made was celebrated. To me nothing compared with the grains, colors, smells, and textures of what nature created. Nature makes my creations special, I am simply fortunate to work alongside her.
Over the last couple of years I have surrendered to this spirit, or energy, and this has allowed me to create some of my most magnificent installations ever! This has brought so much joy to so many people. I am especially grateful to the clients who have trusted me completely. Since every plank I age is unique, the results of every project are as well. I can’t show a client a photograph of what their room will look like because what I am preparing to install doesn’t exist at that time. But they see my vision. And they are willing to embrace it. In the words of my clients, the results are magical.
These projects and life experiences are the foundation of Edmund Terrence. My goal is to create in your home a feeling for you to share with your loved ones. My products are a dream, filtered through my life experiences and meant to provide for you a personal experience of being one with the earth and, perhaps, taken back to a simpler time. This dream of mine has, like a fine wine, been nurtured for over 40 years, and blended with God-made materials Mother Nature has nurtured for over 100 years.
Edmund Terrence creates one-of-a-kind works of art from nature’s hands and mine for your home, with complete admiration and respect for the Earth. We respect and want to showcase all the magnificence which God and nature have to offer.
Cheers,
-Terry