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California desk in claro walnut: 7' long, 29.5" tall; $2,950
Coffee table: 56" long, 16" tall; $1,650
Free delivery to destinations in the San Francisco Bay Area.
"It takes a lot of effort to source native California claro walnut," says Jared Rusten, maker of the California desk and coffee table. "The only people who process it are lone sawyers that happen to have the heavy equipment and space requisite to carefully cut, stack, and dry huge logs."
>"I'm building for the scrutiny of the obsessive woodworker examining the piece 100 years from now."
For its rarity, Rusten says, claro costs six to seven times more than other hardwoods, and most of it goes to instrument makers, gunstock makers, or restaurants and bars that want the big, natural-edge slabs.
"Maybe because of its rarity, I'd feel ashamed to cut any corners in the cutting, sanding, or finishing," Rusten continues.
"Is it handmade? Well, the power tools do the initial roughing, and the hands do the other 75 percent. My extra effort may not be noticed by the client, but I'm building for the scrutiny of the obsessive woodworker examining the piece 100 years from now. I can't help it.… Also, it’s cool. Way better than a rectangle."
