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www.TrapWorks.com
24 Carleton Street
Newton, Massachusetts 02458
Phone: (617) 964-5252 . Email: gvanderesk@aol.com
Updated last: June 26, 2009
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| Full-length Wine Cabinet |
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vanDeresk®
Wine Cabinets & Other Functional Furnishings
hand-crafted entirely from antique wooden lobster traps
Always a conversation piece, a vanDeresk® wine cabinet or other functional furniture is an ideal gift for any occasion – anniversary, house-warming, retirement, wedding … or just because you deserve one!
Creations are from authentic and real lobster pots (traps), with excellent and judicious workmanship, with quality materials, unique and original designs, interesting engineering, limited editions, signed and numbered.
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My work honors the heritage of the sea by preserving antique wooden lobster traps in the form of unique and functional furnishings for home and office. Each artifact is derived entirely from an authentic lobster trap originating from the fishing villages along the coasts. I personally handpicked these relics of the sea in order to assure myself of their pedigree and structural viability. The woodwork is hand-finished to furniture quality specifications.
Trapping lobster is a trade and almost a science, but building a round wooden lobster trap is definitely a work of art. I know this because I have seen them built in person. Each of the traps that hosts my creative expression was actually hand-built by a lobsterman and it bears the distinctive effects of fishing regulations, community custom and individual craftsmanship.
Each trap is in itself unique, even if built by the same lobsterman. My unique trapinets (trap-cabinets) are distinct in that I re-engineer the trap so it becomes a wine cabinet, wine rack, curio, side or end table, chest, chair, coffee table, ottoman, étagère or stand. From the remnants of a project often are rendered into a plant hanger, wine cradles or other smaller items.
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Half-trap wine racks ... If a full-length (24-inch) cabinet is not your cup of wine, then consider a rack made from an authentic half of a weathered trap. Here is another vanDeresk® original.It still sleeps ten to twelve bottles. It has a part of its original netting (back) and its door opens from top. Airy and open look with easy access to the goodies!
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Coffee tables - they were bound to happen! At fist I resisted making lobster trap (lobster pot) coffee tables, as they have been done the world over and posed no great challenge. In 2006, a client requested that I make her a coffee table even if it meant that I would not stray from working strictly with round traps. I spent the winter of 2006-2007 designing a coffee table that could sit on the floor as a trap would at the bottom of the sea, not inverted and balanced with the help of cradle or saddle or long leg attachments. In the spring of 2007, I unveiled my first round trap coffee table, complete with 3/8" tempered glass.
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| No. 58: Coffee table |
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| No. 60: Coffee table |
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My resistance to working with a square lobster trap, too, was not very long lasting! In August 2008, I spotted a square lobster pot, which, on its face, showed little damage, until I turned it over to discover the toll that time and climate had taken on the most critical part of the contraption – the bottom runners. Somehow the challenge of restoring this piece eclipsed any desire that I had to stay away from square traps. Featured below is the very first vanDeresk® square coffee table (completed, October 2008).
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The following item has nothing to do with lobster pots, but is still a thing of beauty! This is a pre-World War II sewing machine (The FREE) that I salvaged at curb side one Wednesday morning in the summer of 2008. The glass is 3/8” tempered and the wheel and paddle operate freely. Some of the remnant iron work is used as accent under the glass. Done in May 2009. Not for sale.
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| No. 20 |
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| No. 16 |
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| No. 18 |
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| No. 17 |
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Wedding card boxes … a vanDeresk® wedding card box or basket is made from one half of an actual lobster trap. It has a door (lid) that opens, a wooden ring, and original netting. A woven twine grid (mesh) ensures that cards, envelopes and other deposits do not slide out from between the bottom and side slats. The Series I models (Nos. Nos. 46, 47, 49 and 74) are no longer in production. The Series II (see below) is in production.
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Wedding card boxes ... The wedding card boxes pictured below represent Series I of the weeding boxes issued by vanDeresk®. They are designated as Nos. 46, 47, 49 and 74 are no longer in production. See Series II below.
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| No. 46: Wedding card box |
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| No. 47 |
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| No. 49 |
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vanDeresk® Series II wedding card boxes: Featured below is representative of the first three issues (Nos. 90, 91 and 92). They are slightly smaller than Series I above and have a 3-lath back instead of netting.
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Single and twin wine bottle cradles ...
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| Cradles -- "bridge" |
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| Nos. 40 (single), 41 (double) |
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| Nos. 55-57 |
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| No. 55: "pi" |
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| No. 56 "rocker" |
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| No.57 "bowt" |
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| Nos. 64-65 |
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| No. 64 "dolphin" |
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| No. 65 "perch" |
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| No. 66 "bridge" |
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Whimsical (miscellaneous) creations ...
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| No. 11 |
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| No. 25 |
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| No. 26 |
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| No. 24 |
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| No. 75 The "Wreck" - representational sculpture |
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From left to right: a desktop easel, a family lawn game (named bow & ring), an outdoors flower pot holder, and solidarity (Olympics) rings -- made entirely from remnants of antique round wooden lobster traps. The game comes with instructions.
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History. TrapWorks came into being in 2004 as the result of my long standing desire to gift to a friend a wedding present that was unique and from New England. Not wishing to replicate the tired old concept of a square lobster pot coffee table, I acquired a round wooden trap, stood it on its side and found a way to make it more functional than it just being a stand for a piece of glass. A variety of wine cabinets, racks, etageres and other items have followed.
The following is a periodically-updated list of numbered creations by Guy vanDeresk (arranged by type of furnishing):
Trap cabinet (trapinet): Nos. 19, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Etagere/display (trapinet minus the door): Nos. 28, 18, 9, 8
Wine cabinet: Nos. 93, 39, 37, 35, 27, 23, 22, 21, 20, 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 7
Wine rack (half-trap): Nos. 76, 53, 52, 50
Wine hammock: No. 54
Wine bottle cradles:
Double bottle: "bridge" Nos. 82, 59, 51(re-numbered 56.1), 45, 44, 43, 42, 41
"kattumaram" No.81
Single bottle:
"bowt" Nos. 62, 61, 57
"bridge" Nos. 86, 85, 83, 80, 74, 73, 72, 66, 63, 59, 48, 40
"dolphin" Nos. 71, 70, 64
"perch" No. 65
"pi" No. 55
"rocker" No. 56
Coffee Table (round): Nos. 88, 87, 84, 79, 78, 69, 60, 58
Coffee Table (square): No. 89
Chair: Nos. 32, 31, 17
Ottoman/bin: Nos. 38, 36
Companion table (side table, end table, lamp table, half-coffee table): Nos. 67, 18A, 16
Desk/writing surface end-stands: Nos. 30 and 29 (pair)
Chest: No. 6
Wedding card box/utility - Series I: Nos. 77, 49, 47, 46 (no longer in production)
Wedding card box/utility - Series II: Nos. 92, 91, 90
Olympic rings: No. 24
"Bow & Ring" lawn game: No. 25
Easel: No. 11
Plant hanger: Nos. 34, 33, 26
"Wreck": No. 75
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A Testimonial that says it all...
Dearest brilliant talented Guy,
Let me first say how sorry I am not to have been able to pick up my box until today. Had I been able to, I'd have enjoyed them a couple of extra days … To quote my son, "it's amazing what you can do with a lobster trap". They're so much more than I ever expected.
I think you need WAY better pictures of them on your web site. They're just superb. I love the quality of the wood, the texture alone had me mesmerised for some time. If I could, I'd build a house with them and live in it. I love the holes, the asymmetry, and all the imperfections; they are absolutely perfect for me. And the … stain is a wonderful touch. While it protects, it allows one to see its natural beauty. I couldn't have been more pleased. I wish you had signed them in the front…..
I keep patting myself on the back for reading that snippet about you at the end of some article at the end of summer. I'd have never known about these pieces of yours, and THAT would have been a loss.
They're simply awesome. Thanks a gazillion,
M.
PS: In my life, I never imagined a decorative piece, a material thing, giving me such willie-nillies.
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www.TrapWorks.com
24 Carleton Street
Newton, Massachusetts 02458
Phone: (617) 964 5252 . Email gvanderesk@aol.com
TrapWorks gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Michael Michalski, Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the graphic and digital re-creation of images published on this site. vanDeresk® (USPTO Reg. No. 3,010,315) is a registered trademark. The designs herein published are the property of TrapWorks. All rights reserved.
© Copyright TrapWorks 2005
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