FURNITURE FROM YOUR URBAN TREES – No urban wood left behind
It was the “Ah!” moment for Bruce back in 1978 when he saw all the wood chips and logs being dumped in to the Willowhill Landfills (now Willowhill Golf Course). He felt so bad to see all the good wood of trees being dumped, chipped or mulched. He often contemplated about how to use urban trees rather than wasting them. Bruce loves trees and hates seeing “any good stuff being wasted”.
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Bruce Horigan has two professions. One, he is an Arborist and other is Sawyer. He has been active since 1976 working with trees. He got married in 1979 to his wife Erika. Working together they create a synergy and make multiple things happen. They both ran a tree care company for over 11 years and sold it to get capital for their new lumber business “Horigan Urban Forest Products”. The business is a family operation. Getting things started wasn’t easy. The business started with a sawmill, one kiln and operating a warehouse out of a garage. As business began to pick up Erika initiated getting a warehouse space where they could store lumber, display product and sell to craftsmen and builders. Their son Justin got involved after he graduated college with a degree in business and forestry and is involved in every aspect of their business.
Their goal is to use the trees to the highest possible uses with the least amount of waste. They use only urban forest trees. Whether the tree is coming down because of disease, public safety, road widening, or storm damage, the lumber can almost always be used. Once the trees are removed, the logs are transported to their sawmill where they are milled and then kiln dried. The lumber is sold to artist, craftsmen, furniture makers and builders. If it is custom milling from a homeowner’s yard, the lumber is processed to their specifications. Horigan employs two furniture makers who can process this lumber into furniture. They also work with many local woodworkers who can create for these customers.
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Talking about the beauty of urban wood is the Horigan’s passion. They feel very responsible and happy to capture the history of the trees that they mill. Recently the Horigan’s were contacted by members of the Naperville Parks Foundation to see about milling and drying The Hobson Oak which was located near Hobson and Greene Roads in DuPage County. . This beautiful sprawling burr oak had come to the end of its life with a large rotted area at the base and hollow trunk. The tree dates back 250 years and the Naperville Parks Foundation, the Du Page Forest Preserve District along with other interested parties wanted to be sure the tree was given a second life. The Horigan’s milled and kiln dried the lumber and it is now being fabricated into bowls, furniture and other products that will be auctioned off and the proceeds will benefit the Naperville Parks Foundation.
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Bruce’s favorite products created out of the urban wood were for “The Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital” in downtown Chicago. They have created many beautiful layers of furniture in the hospital and even used some wood from Lincoln Park Zoo trees. One of his favorites include children’s hand casts (Scroll down to image 4) on the wood tables.
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Bruce Horigan, a certified arborist since 1979, was honored with a Special Recognition award by the Illinois Arborist Association in 2008 for advancing the cause of wood recycling in the urban environment. The trio (Bruce, Erika and his son Justin) also received the State of Illinois Environmental Protection Award for their significant achievements in protecting the environment and boosting the economy.
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Bruce always knew that they were contributing big, but his zeal became stronger when Steve Bratkovich, member of Forest Products Society released a report that “30% of the US total hardwood can be produced using the urban wood. Therefore, 30% forests trees can be saved from cutting down for wood utilization purposes”. He then realized that they are making a great difference.
Bruce’s statement about trees is “Trees are part of our whole life, when they are living or dead.”
His favorite tree is the White Oak.
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