Sal Gross

By trade I’m a mechanical technician. I’m recycling dead timber due to the fact that I love nature and everything hand made from natural materials.

In 1989 I opened my business in Melbourne designing and making useful home furniture and decor items made out fine timbers and stones. While having the business I discovered the unique and beautiful hard timbers of Tasmania and Victoria.

In the mid 1990’s I started to make decorative items from beautiful and rare Tasmanian myrtle burl.

In the early 2000’s while having weekly walks along the shores of Port Philip Bay, I discovered that many of the “ugly” tea trees are dying. On one of these walks I pick up a dead twisted branch in a shape of a hook. After cleaning layers of bark I discovered that it is a very hard and beautiful timber. At first I didn’t know what to do with this branch, then because I had myrtle burl in stock I decided to use part of a burl as a base for my first lantern, combined with a mini Balinese bird cage which is used now as my business logo.

Personally I think that this type of Melaleuca tree is unique and challenging to work with.