WITH THIS RING……
Gustav Reyes’ eco-friendly clients prefer to let the trees hug them. The owner of Simply Wood Rings in Chicago, Reyes uses salvaged lumber to produce custom wooden rings for his gamut of clients, unless they provide their own sentimental wood items to be transformed.
Reyes started his unique woodworking business about a decade ago. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago in his college years, followed by the Chicago Bauhaus Academy where he learned the finer aspects of woodworking. He worked for a local cabinetmaker temporarily, where he learned hands-on skills, and the business of furniture making and creating casework for upscale homes.
“I quickly learned that the capital needed to make cabinets and furniture was something that I was lacking. I had to come up with something small that didn’t need a lot of capital, so after I fumbled and stumbled around for a while, my wife asked me if I could make her a wooden ring, mainly because she has metal allergies”
Reyes prides himself on the strength of his rings, saying they’re made with great structural integrity. Wedding rings are the most common request but, Reyes caters to all sorts of ideas such as a mother who can’t part with her grown son’s baseball bat from his Little League days. Reyes even made a ring from ancient bog oak, a white oak tree that has been preserved in the bogs of Europe, carbon dated at 4,500 to 5,000 years old.
Reyes’ clientele varies from newlyweds to high-end art lovers. Many of them are environmentally conscious. He makes standard stock rings which can be viewed on his Web site, but his custom orders are his favorite. Recently, the director of education for Noguchi Museum in New York commissioned what Reyes calls, “A tree Grows in Brooklyn,” inspired by the book of the same name by author Betty Smith. This client knows of the book and purchased the set to propose to her fiancé on a trip to Northern California, said Reyes.
“It is the connection and the importance my wooden wedding rings plays in the lives of my customers which I truly enjoy,” said Reyes. “Early on I learned that doing custom work takes me to new places with new ideas that I normally wouldn’t have done. I am currently working on a set of wedding rings for a couple that sent me two limbs from a tree that grows in India which is known there as the “Tree of Life.”
Ring prices range from $120 for a single wood ring and $340 for so
me of the more complex wedding sets. Examples
can be seen at www.simplywoodrings.com.
Contact: Simply Wood Rings, 1623 W. 37th St., Chicago, IL 60609. Tel: 773-360-5627.
Jennifer Hicks
Gustav Reyes’ eco-friendly clients prefer to let the trees hug them. The owner of Simply Wood Rings in Chicago, Reyes uses salvaged lumber to produce custom wooden rings for his gamut of clients, unless they provide their own sentimental wood items to be transformed.
Reyes started his unique woodworking business about a decade ago. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago in his college years, followed by the Chicago Bauhaus Academy where he learned the finer aspects of woodworking. He worked for a local cabinetmaker temporarily, where he learned hands-on skills, and the business of furniture making and creating casework for upscale homes.
“I quickly learned that the capital needed to make cabinets and furniture was something that I was lacking. I had to come up with something small that didn’t need a lot of capital, so after I fumbled and stumbled around for a while, my wife asked me if I could make her a wooden ring, mainly because she has metal allergies”
Reyes prides himself on the strength of his rings, saying they’re made with great structural integrity. Wedding rings are the most common request but, Reyes caters to all sorts of ideas such as a mother who can’t part with her grown son’s baseball bat from his Little League days. Reyes even made a ring from ancient bog oak, a white oak tree that has been preserved in the bogs of Europe, carbon dated at 4,500 to 5,000 years old.
Reyes’ clientele varies from newlyweds to high-end art lovers. Many of them are environmentally conscious. He makes standard stock rings which can be viewed on his Web site, but his custom orders are his favorite. Recently, the director of education for Noguchi Museum in New York commissioned what Reyes calls, “A tree Grows in Brooklyn,” inspired by the book of the same name by author Betty Smith. This client knows of the book and purchased the set to propose to her fiancé on a trip to Northern California, said Reyes.
“It is the connection and the importance my wooden wedding rings plays in the lives of my customers which I truly enjoy,” said Reyes. “Early on I learned that doing custom work takes me to new places with new ideas that I normally wouldn’t have done. I am currently working on a set of wedding rings for a couple that sent me two limbs from a tree that grows in India which is known there as the “Tree of Life.”
Ring prices range from $120 for a single wood ring and $340 for so
Contact: Simply Wood Rings, 1623 W. 37th St., Chicago, IL 60609. Tel: 773-360-5627.
Jennifer Hicks
