Mondee Tilley/The News
Clyde Haymore stands next to panels of Red Maple. The one right next to him will become a desk when he’s finished.
Mondee Tilley/The News
This is a finished coffee table made by Clyde Haymore that will be shipped to San Diego, Calif. The table was cut from a local Ambrosia Maple tree.
Mondee Tilley/The News
Scenic Fixtures employee Pat Jacques sands down a cabinet that will go to Piedmont Medical in Dobson.
A White Plains man spends much of his time finding the hidden beauty in trees that others miss and turning those trees into works of art.
Clyde Haymore just celebrated his 30th year being in the woodworking business. As the owner of Scenic Fixtures, his company produces cabinets and fixtures for businesses, but his real passion is taking trees that normally would have been used for firewood and turning them into things of beauty. His specialty is making slab tables and desks out of wood that is cut at the saw mill or stumps that he cuts with a chain saw.
Haymore studied at Appalachian State University where he earned his degree in industrial arts with a concentration in woodworking. He then went to work in the furniture industry as an engineer and also worked as a master carver in the industry.
Haymore gets the wood he uses for the slab-style tables locally, which is everything from Ambrosia maple to hickory, cherry and red maple. He said he gets the wood from people who just give it to him, or from local tree trimmers.
He said some of the trees that come from people’s backyards will have nails and even bullets in them. He said he has a table at his house that has a bullet cut in half in each side of the table. That occurred because sometimes the slab isn’t as wide as he likes so he will take the next slab and glue the two together.
Sometimes the wood will have a burl in it, where the grain is deformed, so Haymore inlays turquoise to fill the gap. He can customize many of his works to fit what people might want.
“The Good Lord created the trees,” said Haymore. “But I can look at a tree — the more gnarly, the better — and envision the furniture pieces that can come out of it. I get excited just visualizing the beauty I know is in the wood-grain of that tree, and I want to bring that beauty out so that others can enjoy it as a functional work of art. The splendor in an exquisitely figured piece of wood is the canvas God gives me to work on, and I love to showcase that beauty by adding inlays, including turquoise and other stones, hand-cut bow ties, and even real leaves.”
Haymore said the work he is doing truly employs sustainable lumber practices.
“In my years of commercial woodworking, the most beautiful wood was not usable because the consumer was looking for consistency in color and grain. So I’ve been rescuing valuable lumber for years just for this work that I’ve always envisioned. Along with this gorgeous lumber, I also use carefully selected trees harvested locally.”
In addition to the slab tables, Haymore also makes store fixtures and cabinets for medical and residential use. Haymore just finished an order for Freddie Snow in Dobson who wanted large round tables in which in the center is cut out and a wine barrel will come through. He also fashioned lazy susans that will go on top of the wine barrels. Snow will be using those in his new reception facility at The Depot.
Once the tables are finished, they are shipped all over the United States. He’s shipped a dinner table worth $3,000 and a coffee table valued at $1,500 to San Diego, Calif. People either see his work at Scenic Gifts located on N.C. 89 between Interstates 74 and 77 or view it on his website, www.woodgenius.com.
Reach Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.
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