Kelly Snake is a Native American woodworking artist from Youngs Point, Ontario, Canada whose passion for the unique is vividly seen in his recycled creations.
.
As a child Kelly was blessed with an upbringing that saw him spend much time playing in the woods and meadows. He often used his wild imagination to make his own toys from things that he found and recalls developing a fascination with personal security.
.
At 16, his father introduced him to the craft of woodworking. Immediately Kelly was struck with the process of turning an unassuming raw pile of lumber into something beautiful and purposeful. Soon, he began designing pieces featuring secret compartments and working mechanical wooden locking systems.
.
Over the years Kelly became displeased by the vast amounts of waste that occurs within our society and the dangerous consequences it has had on our environment. In 1992 he seized a window of opportunity to apprentice for a local wood recycling company as a product designer. Kelly believes that this is where he honed an ability to “listen to the wood”. Soon, he was being inspired to produce beautiful and innovative designs from recycled materials, with vintage cigar boxes being just one of them. This became his preferred way to conceive and construct products.
.
To Kelly, building heirloom quality designs from recycled materials meant reducing the amount of waste going to local landfill sites for another 100 years, …or possibly more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We would love to hear about your experiences and see your finished projects. So drop us a short note and email a picture of your finished project, whether it be a vintage box or something you made from scratch, and we will display your craftsmanship on our website for the entire world to see.
.
Forward your project picture and comments to:
E-mail: snake@woodlockplans.com
.
Or, mail them to us at:
Wood Lock Plans, 2736 Chalmers Ave., Youngs Point, Ontario, Canada, K0L 3G0