Ancient greenwood-working skills met historic local timber last week out at Rekindle’s new workshop in the Ferrymead Heritage Park, as New Zealand’s leading Windsor chair maker, Northlander Richard Hare, led a team of local woodworkers in a furniture-making session using 110-year-old logs salvaged from Christchurch’s parks.

This work is part of Rekindle’s new and innovative initiative called Resourceful Ōtautahi, which focuses on encouraging the use of resourceful skills and undervalued local materials. The Arts Centre commissioned the unique furniture, which was crafted using handtools made from timbers from the city’s parks. Ash trees over 100 years old from Hagley Avenue that were dead or dying are celebrated in this furniture, which is destined for The Arts Centre's Old Boys High building. 

Occupational Therapist and founder of Rekindle, Juliet Arnott says, ‘We are so fortunate to create this work for The Arts Centre, it enables us to revere the history of beautiful local trees, to celebrate traditional craft and to create creative opportunities for local people.’

Under Richard’s guidance, the furniture-making was completed last week and further developped local woodworkers’ skills, thus enabling Resourceful Ōtautahi to present future opportunities for greenwood-working to the Christchurch public.

Resourceful Ōtautahi is also running a series of evening and weekend workshops at its new home in Ferrymead Heritage Park, where the public can learn traditional crafts, such as spoon-carving, basket-weaving and rope-making – for a small fee. Additionally, Rekindle will launch a new series of free pop-up workshops in the central city during the weekdays at its Peterborough site at the end of September. 

‘Being able to make what we need from what we have is something we all need to feel confident in. Resourceful Ōtautahi is all about using craft and local resources to experience how good it feels to be resourceful.’ 

The furniture-making has been made possible by support from Christchurch City Council to access the timbers from city parks, which will also be used in the workshops. Funding from from Christchurch City Council is enabling the series of free weekday workshops at Rekindle’s pop-up craft workshop at 100 Peterborough Street. These will recommence in late September 2017 with details on the Rekindle website.