LIVE EDGE MASTERPIECES

01 Meet the Dudes, Check Out the Shop

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Eichar Woodworking

is Florida Man father-son team:

Meet Don and Kevin Eichar.

They're occassionally joined by Scott, who recently retired and just can't seem to stop working. I'm Scott's son, Bobby, the guy who took these photos and built this site. I love what these guys are doing, and I thought you might too.

You can't help but be intrigued by this place; three true blue Florida Men sweating it out in the sawdust just to make some beautiful things. It's an artist's studio if I've ever seen one. Dead trees go in one end and some of the finest contemporary furniture comes out the other. Art is defined by choices: line, composition, form, and function. Art is exactly what this wood shop produces; they're just three guys, creating modern artifacts.

I don't know if they know that they're artists. Don tells me it's just a matter of bringing out something that'a already there, something just beneath the surface of the wood. He's been doing this for a long time, used to work mainly bamboo. He's traveled the world with Kevin and his wife Lynn; Costa Rica, Colombia, who knows where else. He's a wild man, and world traveler; the best example of a free spirit I've ever met. Just a very cool dude. That's the mastermind behind this place: Don. Stop in and meet him! He's usually there from sunup to sundown, working the materials, making magic.

Every inch of this place is a found painting; an abstract work of art that happens seemingly on its own. Textures upon textures and brilliant colors carved from unlikely sources. Spending the day there, taking these photos, I realized that this shop is a lesson in seeing the beauty in all things. Dull, rough wood that hides brilliant patterns and colors, even the overgrown grass out back is beautiful when the wind rolls over it in waves. Old things can become new things, more stunning and cutting edge than ever imagined. You just need the right tool, or the right vision, and you've gotta see it there to bring it out. These guys have that vision.