Custom Cabinetry
Furnishings from Cortes Woods
Treenware for Gifting & Personal Indulgence

In all my woodwork I use primarily local materials: wood from blow-downs or trees that have died naturally, which I harvest and process with my Alaskan mill. After careful storing, seasoning and natural air-drying to reduce the moisture content to less than 6%, I create reproductions or pieces of my own design. I love working with arbutus, big leaf maple, alder, manzanita, yew, tight grain fir and sometimes even humble hemlock. I keep an inventory of finished items such as chests, serving trays, cutlery trays, stools, rocking chairs, salt boxes, etc. and I am always interested in taking on commissions for unusual items that involve a design and building challenge.

My aim is always to produce unique and useable designs, lasting treasures suitable for wedding presents, gifts for special occasions - or simply a personal indulgence - that will stand the test of time. Whenever possible, I substitute attractive hardwood in place of metal fasteners and hardware. Look for my special detail of wooden hinges on all my chests and treasure boxes.

My interest in woodworking arose indirectly in my teens through a course in wood pattern-making for producing metal castings. The early hands-on exposure to practical skills left its mark. I enjoyed working with wood and was able to produce very accurate and precise patterns.

After completing engineering programs at Ryerson and at Michigan Tech Universities, I spent many years as a design engineer at the National Research Council of Canada in the development of forefront instrumentation systems for nuclear, aeronautical and astronomical research facilities. In my spare time, to balance the world of hard, cold metal and glass, I returned to the tactile nature of living wood. A love of early European and French Canadian pine furniture was satisfied by my crafting (more affordable) reproductions. This led to starting Canada West Woodcraft in North Vancouver, creating custom furniture, i.e. dining-room tables, chairs, Welsh dressers and chests. I also supplied smaller wooden-ware items to a number of high-end Vancouver shops.

After several years in Victoria we relocated to Cortes Island and spent several years acclimatizing and building a house with wood from trees found on our property. Having completed all the cabinets, doors and trim, I turned to other projects. For the Cortes Museum I created custom display cabinets, doors, kitchen cabinets and the swinging (bar) doors. Eventually this led to commissions for other display cabinets, rocking chairs, high chairs, chests, - even a worktable for the current mayor of Vancouver!

My work can be viewed and purchased at my studio in Manson's Landing.

Walter Grundmann
Box 227
Manson's Landing  BC  V0P 1K0
Phone: 250-935-6724
Email: