Rudinian Rockworks

Introduction

Ancient yet original, sculptural yet functional, Rudinian Rockworks celebrates the beauty of natural stone

Commissions invited

Have a look around the site to see a new

style of tables, benches, and much more, handcrafted from the most long lasting

building material in the world

Let's talk about what I can create for you, from a little end table to a set of outdoor furniture worthy of King Zeus.

Email: rudistade@live.ca

Phone: 705 789 3331

Cell/ Text: 705 571 6260

Workshop: 10 Airport Road East

Huntsville, Ontario

By chance or by appointment

Challenges accepted

Made of hunks of two-billion year old pre-Cambrian granite

half as old as the Earth itself ,

give or take 200 million years -

the ultimate antique furniture!

Unique in the world

Natural

Beautiful

Durable

Sustainable

Reusable

Disposable

In the Beginning: "Furniture From the Earth"

I am a Huntsville, Ontario

based artisan. I have been designing and building "organic" furniture with rocks since I moved from downtown Toronto to the Muskoka region in 2003. Before that i was a renovator and had never worked with stone

First tables, 2003

Two weeks after arriving from Toronto I discovered the wealth of flat rocks in the surrounding forest. Seized with inspiration, I knew there had to be a way to turn them into furniture by combining them with wood

I didn't know what I was doing, I was a carpenter. Every new project was a

venture further into

unknown territory

I would select one rock out of thousands for the design idea that its unique shape and size suggested,

Finding rocks that were in the correct proportion to each other for a specific project could take months,

even years. It was far from cost effective, and carrying or hauling them a kilometre through the hilly

forest without scratching the delicate patina could be brutal, but I didn't care. I had found a new passion

As my skill and confidence grew, I plunged into increasingly complex projects, not knowing if they were even physically possible. I never cut or shaped the rocks, to preserve the ancient weathered surface

Graduating to granite

In 2006 a cottager commissioned me to build a six metre long outdoor bar on a flagstone patio. For the size , quantity, and consistency of rocks required, I suggested we buy from a local quarry

Click here to see the building of the outdoor bar and patio

After years of using found rocks in their pristine weathered state, I finally "crossed the line" and began carving the raw granite slabs to fit perfectly against each other, with no cuts visible, They were already freshly split and broken with no surface patina anyway. Still, I spent hours searching the quarries to find the pre-existing shapes I wanted

After that I had the confidence to build my first all-granite bench

Muskoka chair, disassembled and ready for delivery

The parts are assembled without mortar or glue but held together with stainless steel hardware hidden inside the solid stone . This allows the furniture to be taken apart and reassembled on site for many moves over the next thousand or so years

Click here to see more Granite Furniture

I have been working primarily with quarried granite since then

I didn't know what I was doing, I was a carpenter. Every new project was a

venture further into

unknown territory

Rudinian Rockworks

Rock solid furniture designs and more by Rudi Stade