Uncategorized
Live Edge Serving Trays / Charcuterie Boards – 20″…
I recently completed work on a series of live edge ash serving trays (a.k.a. charcuterie boards). They’re available on Etsy as well as locally in the State College, PA area through Facebook Marketplace. Free shipping on Etsy and free local delivery through Facebook!
Today I’m featuring a series of 20″ serving trays (charcuterie boards if you’re fancy). I purchased a couple of live edge slabs last year to complete a commission for a set of floating shelves, and the stack raw wood looked so great that I just had to buy several pieces to play with later. I love working with live edge wood because you find such unique beauty and unexpected character in every piece.
I have 9 of the serving boards available now. They all feature a pair of minimalist black metal handles and rubber feet to keep them from sliding on your table or countertop. I finished the trays with Howard Butcher Block Conditioner, a blend of food-grade mineral oil, beeswax, and carnauba wax.
The boards are safe for direct food contact, and you can renew the finish easily as it fades to keep the wood looking great for years to come. (A bottle of Howard’s is only $10, and you’ll get dozens of applications out of it.)
Scroll down to see a few photos and descriptions of some of the distinctive features of the boards. You’ll find links to the listings for the trays that are still available on Etsy at the bottom on the page.
Some charcuterie boards feature strong grain patterns.
Several of the trays features distinctive, high-contrast grain patterns. Once you see the beauty of the grain of ash wood, you will find it hard to accept any substitutes. Sweeping arcs, sharp curves, and distinctive knots appear either by themselves or in equal measure in different pieces.
Here are a few of my favorite trays that feature strong grain patterns:
Other serving trays have distinctive live edges.
Most of the trays from this batch have a smooth live edge with gentle curves or a smooth taper from one end to the other. But a couple of boards have so much live edge character, I struggle to even put them up for sale as the temptation to keep such unique pieces for myself is very high.
Some of my favorite serving trays feature contrasting light and dark colors.
Ash can be mostly light in color with only the grain popping as a darker brown, but many pieces can feature a rich dark brown, either in a relatively solid patch as in the photo above or something a bit more mottled.
The word of the day for serving boards is chatoyance.
Say it with me: sha-TOY-yan-see. Also known as grain folding, chatoyance is caused when a tree encounters some kind of outside force or pressure that prevents the grain from forming properly while growing outward, instead folding back on itself. The result is waviness that reflects light brilliantly and can appear 3D within the flat surface of the wood.
It can be difficult to see clearly and fully appreciate the effect in a photograph, but check out the patch or chatoyance near the front handle in the photo below.
A couple charcuterie boards have a TON of rustic character.
Maybe you aren’t a fan of elegant, sweeping grain patterns. I’ve got you covered there, too. A couple of the available serving trays have rustic character to spare with everything from light staining from inclusions, to small knots, to odd swirls in the grain, to insect bores.
20″ Live Edge Serving Trays on Etsy!
All of the charcuterie boards and a few more are available on Etsy. They are $75 each with Priority Mail shipping included. You can get them for $60 with free drop off delivery through Facebook Marketplace if you happen to live near me in the State College/Spring Mills, PA area.
