FEATURED FARMER'S MARKET VENDOR
Samantha Rhodes
S
pecializing in fine writing instruments,
smart phone stands, and more, Wekiva
Woodworks is this month’s Featured
Vendor of the Winter Garden Farmers Market.
Phil Merchant creates handcrafted exotic wood
crafts – pens, wine stoppers, decorative keychains
and other items – but he also works with decorative
acrylics and other medium. To create custom
pens, Phil and his wife Linda start with the inner
cylinder of the pen and place whatever desired
elements on and around it. They’ve created their
functional art using anything: playing cards,
watch faces or parts, abalone shell, carbon fiber,
and even the aged interior of whiskey barrels.
One of Phil’s favorite pieces he has in his collection
right now is a pen made with shark vertebrae
enwrapped in diamond dust. The pen is a stunning
piece on its own, and learning of it’s origins
made it even moreso. Linda recently created a
beautiful piece using carbon fiber, a Tag Heuer
watch face, various cogs, springs and other parts.
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WINTER GARDEN MAGAZINE
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JUNE 2018