Roots of Heaven

Jan Krupnick

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Gabriel Romero

P.O. Box 1065

Gold Hill OR 97525

Jan Krupnick and Gabriel Romero are co-owners of Roots of Heaven. In their shop in Gold Hill, Oregon, Gabriel makes sturdy, natural-form furniture using primarily manzanita, madrone, oak and maple. Strong and durable, the furniture is held together without nails or screws but using all wood joints. Natural features such as woodpecker holes, knots and insect markings are left intact to maintain the wood’s uniqueness.

Jan and Gabriel moved to their current 5-acre parcel in Gold Hill in 1998 and were awe struck by the beauty of the local woods. “We think of trees as the roots of heaven,” Jan says.

The couple’s house serves as a gallery. Their workshop is in a small former chicken room (that extends outdoors when weather permits).


*Gabriel at work. Jan in inset.*

Gabriel, a former professional boxer, started woodworking after injuring his back several years ago.

“He had the soul of an artist behind the guise of a fighter,” says Jan, an ex-teacher.

The pair walk the woods around their home and explore acreage owned by friends and neighbors looking for wood that’s down or fallen. They do not cut any live wood.

Table

The shape and design of each piece of furniture is determined by the shape of the wood, Romero says, so that no two pieces are alike. In the end, the goal is always the same: to take a piece of natural art and turn it into a functional yet beautiful piece of furniture.

According to Jan it is “the inherent quality of workmanship that makes our pieces stand out from other natural-form furniture makers.”