When Girsberger transforms a tree into a table, the tree is given a second life: a piece of solid-wood furniture that showcases its character and life history.
Living conditions such as soil quality, supplies of water and nutrients, slope gradient and the influence of the wind and weather all leave their traces.
For trees too, a good upbringing begins in the “nursery”. Selection and the growth process during each phase of the tree's life are overseen by professional, sustainable forest management.
The hand-picked sawn timber is carefully dried in the open air for between one and three years. In addition, several air flow chambers and vacuum chambers are used to dry the wood so that it complies with industry-standard moisture levels. Optional refinement processes such as steaming and smoking are also carried out.
Each table is made using the wood from a single tree trunk. This gives the colour and grain a harmonized look: vibrant or serene, with knots or without.
Particular tree trunks and particular lengths make it possible to create particular items of furniture. We can often envisage a particular use in the sawmill, so we make decisions about plank thickness when it is being sawn up. The shape of a tree trunk is shown off to best effect in tables where the rough edge is featured as part of the plank.