box elder dipped diamonds

vermont box elder wood, nickel-free stainless steel hardware, handmade by Reed Prescott, designed by Brooke Isabelle

Box elder, like lilac and other woods is broken down into two areas of wood. The heartwood found in the center of the tree is harder and gives the tree strength. It acts like our skeleton in contrast to the sapwood which wraps around the heartwood. Lighter in color it is the section of the tree where the nutrients flow up and down the tree. When water becomes trapped in the tree it creates a bacteria that might be harmful to the tree. As a natural defense the tree isolates the toxins between the two sections and in box elder it turns bright red.

- Reed