CASA London : Would you say live edge is your signature ? Absolutely ! Live edge is the majority of what I do . I love using wood in its natural state . Each piece is so unique in its grain pattern , colour and shape . There ' s beauty in every single piece , it ' s just hidden and I like to bring it out .
CASA London : Do you make anything for your own house ? Is it live edge everywhere you look ? Everything I make I end up selling , 98 % of my orders are custom , but I do want to take some time to make stuff for myself . My friends come to my house and they are shocked that there ’ s none of my furniture . Once I make time my house will be entirely outfitted with my own furniture . It ’ s tough , it ’ s kinda like your children . You pick a piece of wood , you sand it down , varnish it … you raise it and then it ’ s gone . I ’ ve always been into painting and drawing , but woodwork was not something I ever saw myself doing . I never tried woodworking , my background has always been within vehicle and aircraft maintenance . Now it ’ s odd going to work and having mechanics and co-workers ask me their opinion on woodworking or ask me to build something for them . But at the same time it ' s a great boost .
CASA London : Is the upcycling / recycling something that is important to you ? I love green – I went vegan for 6 months . I ’ ve always been into reusing stuff , I ’ m not a hoarder but I don ’ t like to throw things away . The bar stools I made were revived . I like to go into vintage and charity shops to look at old furniture and if I can re-use the base I will . It makes for something truly unique . There seems to a really big shift , right now people want to shop local and re-cycle and up-cycle . I have had people ask me to refinish cabinets , dressers and old antiques . I try to keep whatever I can , I try to keep all the end pieces . It can all be used , that ’ s the way I look at it .
CASA London : How long does it take you to finish a piece , from start to finish ? A table takes about 4 weeks normally . Once you ’ re in someone ’ s house and you ’ re talking to them daily , sometimes twice a day , for 4 weeks you get to know them – they become more than a client . I ’ ve made some great friends from doing this . I usually have 3 or 4 pieces on the go at one time , I try to schedule them so I can sand them all at once or I will stagger them so I am doing it every few days .
CASA London : So what is the goal here ? Where do you see this going ? My goal is to eventually do this full time . For the moment I ’ ll be here on the weekends but the showroom will be open even when I ’ m not here . It will run as the same hours as the amazing store above me , Loveleigh Boutique . I sat down to plan and write down my goals last month . I said that I want to have my own showroom by next year and then this became available . It might have been a bit sooner but I saw it and though I can work at it and make it nice . Almost every client I have had has been a repeat customer with 3 or 4 pieces for every house . My business has been growing faster than I ever imagined , so now I ' m ready for the next step .
Well , you must be doing something right ! Rustix pieces look and feel like they have a lot of love put into them ; and after having met Heather and seen her showroom I can confidently say that is the truth ! No one piece will ever be the same , and I think that is the real draw for Heather and for her customers ( it certainly is for me ).
Rustix showroom is located in the funky basement at 569 Richmond Street . After a successful launch party on November 5th , the showroom is now open daily . Pop in to get a first hand look at the incredible live edge furniture and accessories , and don ' t forget to # ordersomethingrustix !