COMPANY PROFILE
From pallets to palettes...
By SANDRA DICK
THEY are hardly the most attractive of items and for many businesses that end up with piles of pallets stacked in the yard, they’re a bit of a nuisance.
Getting shot of them can be a bit of a headache – particularly if what started as one or two has grown into a leaning tower of pallets.
That’s something which could soon be a reality for some; Brexit could potentially raise complications exporting waste wood, making the domestic market more important than ever.
Of course, pallets can easily go on to be used time and again, or be recycled for use as firewood, charcoal, wood chips and even as bedding for pets.
However, for a growing community of crafty types with an eye for design and admirable woodworking skills, those unloved, unwanted pallets are a project waiting to happen.
Wooden pallets are being reborn in a huge variety of ways, bringing new life to old wood, bypassing those normal recycling routes and giving many a new outlet for their creative talents.
They have certainly brought changes to Nigel Spencer’s life. Just two years ago he took an unwanted pallet home to his garden shed and, although he didn’t realise it at the time, set about laying the foundations for a thriving cottage industry of pallet art, furniture and quirky wooden objects.
“I made some heart-shaped tea light holders for my partner,” explains Nigel, a full-time printer. “She put a picture of them on Facebook, and it all took off from there.
“Now I’m at craft fayres most weekends and taking orders for bespoke items.” Nigel, 53, a father of five who also has three grandchildren, now runs Woodcraft by Nigel, selling items he’s
handcrafted from unwanted pallets. They include fun miniature surfboards to hang on the wall, garden furniture and accessories, wooden clocks, children’s chairs and ‘mud’ kitchens for outdoor play, dog feeders, beer caddies and - his most popular item - a bath tray designed to hold all the essentials for a dip including wine glass and iPad holders.
The last thing his customers might suspect is that the items have been repurposed from nothing more than a humble pallet.
“People are really surprised when I tell them that almost all of what I make started off as a pallet, and everything is recycled wood,” says Nigel.
From that first heart-shaped tealight, Nigel has stretched the woodworking skills he learned at school to create a beautiful 3ft by 6ft coffee table for his dining room – the project that’s he’s so far most proud of.
“I started off just tinkering with the wood,” he recalls. “I like working with pallets, they are all the same size – 7ft by 3ft – all the timber is the same width and length so you know exactly what you have to work with.
“It can take a bit of effort to break it down, but then I just clean it up – the pallets are usually very dirty - plane it down or just sand it if the customer wants a rustic finish.
“I just cut out the shapes that I want and then join them up using biscuit joints or dowels and glue, and varnish it.
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