One Of A Kind Craftsmanship

03/11/2026

Silent auction goes live on Monday. Go DAWGS!

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SANFORD STADIUM HEDGE LEGACY BENCH

Serial #257 — “Trees are silent and monumental witnesses to human restlessness.” – Laura Fermi

The study of politics is, in many ways, the study of how institutions hold together imperfect human systems. This legacy bench tells that same story in wood. Crafted from a character-filled slab of American black walnut, it is stabilized with butterfly bowties cut from the historic privet hedges of Sanford Stadium.

Installed after the 1996 Olympic Games, these storied hedges framed the field of play for 27 seasons as UGA football compiled a remarkable 280–90 record. Their grain now lives on again — strengthening this bench created in honor of the 25th Anniversary of the University of Georgia’s School of Public & International Affairs (SPIA) and its enduring study of the institutions that shape civic life. Fine finished to 800 grit and sealed with Festool Heavy Duty finish.

11/24/2025

A little pre–Clean Old-Fashioned Hate warm-up this weekend…

UGA’s Bridge Club brought the trophy 🏆 back to Athens! After a late push from Georgia Tech in the fourth quarter, the Dawgs held on to secure the bridge victory! ♥️♠️♦️♣️ No overtime needed.

At my son’s request, who is the faculty advisor for the UGA Bridge Club (full story in link), I crafted this trophy from rare trees taken from BOTH campuses.

Let’s hope Friday’s football game follows the same pattern…including no overtimes.

Go Dawgs! ♥️♠️♦️♣️

https://saportareport.com/a-tale-of-two-trees-that-became-a-trophy/columnists/guestcolumn/melinda-sylvester/

11/09/2025

Cooking up a few dishes for the College Night Thanksgiving meal this Tuesday at Athens Church! If you’re planning on eating dinner that night, come join us — I hear a few thousand of your friends will be there too.
👉 athenschurch.com/event

11/08/2025

🌳
HIDDEN WITHIN A BENCH AND BOARD LIES A STORY — SHAPED BY GEORGIA ROOTS AND REVEALED IN ONE UNFORGETTABLE SURPRISE.

It was fun to surprise Governor Brian Kemp this week — with a little woodworking secret hidden quietly in plain sight.

Both a charcuterie board and a “Friendship Bench” were handcrafted for the Hyundai Mobility Training Center of Georgia, each carrying inlaid bowties cut from wood 🪵 taken from the Governor’s family farm — without him knowing it!

In woodworking, bowties bring unity and strength where nature leaves space — just like the partnership between Georgia and South Korea, woven together for shared success.

✨ Thanks to the unnamed family member who helped keep the surprise under wraps until the very end. 😉

🍑

02/02/2025

Congratulations, Ga DNR. And thank you, Joe Tanner.

01/29/2025

Auction goes live this Friday (see link below)

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DNR COMMISSIONER JOE TANNER LEGACY CHARCUTERIE BOARD

For more than five decades, Joe Tanner skillfully wove together all the entities in Georgia that shaped environmental policy—and he did it masterfully. Five bow tie inlays extracted from an ancient post oak off of Joe’s farm stitch together a complex slab of black walnut…for a cause he embodied. It’s fitting that this board honors the vision and dedicated leadership of such an enduring legacy by Georgia’s 1st DNR Commissioner.

Link to auction items #15: https://event.gives/57914/items/389606633

01/19/2025

I thought there was one more bench in this Athens Church Oak! Come celebrate with us next weekend. https://athenschurch.com/twenty
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For half a century, an oak tree stood as a silent witness—observing the rhythms of daily life, the hum of passing cars, and countless stories unfolding. In its final twenty years, its rings logged the birth and growth of Athens Church. Now, the grain in this bench, marked with what could be imagined as God’s fingerprints, holds the intertwined history of the tree and the church it once watched over. It’s fitting that this wood now honors the vision and dedication of Athens Church’s founders on the occasion of their 20 year celebration.

12/26/2024

Santa’s workshop is officially closed for the year. See you in 2025.

12/15/2024

One bench, a cutting board, 2 charcuterie boards, and 98 keepsakes/Christmas orniments memorized out of an ancient tree to honor the 20th Anniversary of Athens Church and its founders/supporters.
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For half a century, an oak tree stood as a silent witness—observing the rhythms of daily life, the hum of passing cars, and countless stories unfolding. In its final twenty years, its rings logged the birth and growth of Athens Church. Now, the grain in these boards, marked with what could be imagined as God’s fingerprints, holds the intertwined history of the tree and the church it once watched over. It’s fitting that this wood now honors the vision and dedication of Athens Church’s founders.

11/21/2024

Somewhere over the past 100 years, the lid to my grandfather’s lettering stamp set was lost. Perhaps this new lid, crafted with corner inlays from a mesquite tree on his Texas farm, will endure for the next century.

11/16/2024

11/02/2024

Certain weekends demand a little workshop organizing.