(2016 - present)
Alabama Sawyer, founded by Cliff and Leigh Spencer, specialise in the production of modern furniture and designs made from naturally fallen trees. The couple works exclusively with urban timber sourced from trees in the Birmingham, Alabama area that have fallen due to storms, development, or other causes. They collect the trees and bring them into their workshop where they are transformed them into award-winning
modern furniture and products for homes and businesses.
Cliff is originally from Birmingham, but the couple met when they were working in LA – Cliff as a set designer and Leigh in graphic design – and together set up a custom woodshop. Over the course of 12 years the couple built up an impressive list of clients and worked on projects including David Hertz’s Wing House, Los Angeles Magazine 2005 Design Home, the Casa del Mar Hotel spa and restaurants, including Westside Tavern, Bucato and Trois Mec.
Their work has been published in regional and national media like Angeleno, California Home + Design, dwell, Martha Stewart and The Wall Street Journal.
They had already started working with rescued trees in LA but on a trip back to his hometown, Cliff realised that there was a lot of urban tree felling taking place in Birmingham and it would make the perfect place to set up a sustainable workshop. Almost immediately they began working on some sizeable projects. Their first was transforming trees that a local school had been forced to cut down into panelling for the school’s classroom ceilings and stumps for play groups. This was followed soon after by converting the stump of a large cherry tree into the centrepiece of a new local amphitheatre.
Now they make a full line of organic
tables, from dining and coffee tables to console and side tables. As well as larger conferences tables and even chopping boards. Every part of the tree is used.
One of the advantages of working with rescued trees is that Cliff gets to work with wood that would not normally be available through timber suppliers. Wood like hackberry, which combines the characteristics of ash and pine, is abundant in Birmingham but largely ignored by mainstream timber farmers. And by using natural, urban trees, Cliff gets to make the most of their distinctive colour and unique grain. This all comes across in their designs which blend organic beauty with fine craftsmanship to produce stunning pieces of
modern furniture.
The couple hope to begin working with other metals produced in Birmingham, such as brass, as well as marble mined from a nearby quarry. But for now, they’ll continue working with reclaimed wood, and in doing so, they will not only save hundreds of logs from landfill, but they’ll also continuing making unique and stylish furniture.