Dutch artist and furniture designer Bente Hovendal is a deliberate, careful artist who puts great thought into each and every piece she creates. Working with raw lumber and a chainsaw, her somewhat weird furniture is complex but shines with the simple inner beauty of the natural materials. It’s a gorgeous take on rustic chainsaw carving.

Hovendal’s pieces look deceptively fragile. They have the appearance of thin, stacked discs of wood criss-crossed with cracks and wrinkles. But each piece of furniture is quite sturdy and has all of the natural strength of its raw materials.

The artist chooses to leave the “imperfections” in – and even to emphasize them – in order to mirror the perfectly imperfect nature of our own lives. The name of the furniture line is woodnwonder, a name that reflects a combination of natural materials and a sense of wonder and reverence for nature.

The sculptural designs are all individual; just like the trees from which they are made and the people who will eventually give them a home, no two will ever be alike.

More about these unique pieces from the designer

“Wood n wonder has emerged as a result of a need to transform sculptural qualities into usable, unique furniture. Many new craftsmanship, knowledge of wood and design processes were needed before  the first furniture could be presented  to the world and the press in 2014 . Woodnwonder has been well received by both  newspapers and international design magazines , connoisseurs and connoisseurs. The design is called  i.a. a strong partner in “slow luxury”: sustainable and luxury interior design.”

About Bente Hovendal

Alongside the artistic work, I have for 24 years worked with and immersed myself in nature, creative learning and development processes, taught people and made myself proficient in crafts, materials and personal, spiritual development. For the past 18 years, I have run the company wood n wonder, which is based on Frederiksø in Svendborg in the 400m2 old carpentry at the disused shipyard. My driving force is to help those who want to awaken their creative power, feel like silence, to use their hands and work with natural and recycled materials.”