Admiring the woodland scenery of Otis Smith Farm & Rowbottom Preserve, which is part of the Cumberland Land Trust.

Michael Amaral is a furniture designer and builder, who lives and works in his hometown of Cumberland, RI. Here's his story:

I have been a tree enthusiast all my life. There is rarely a day that goes by when I don't wander into the woods, whether to hike with my dog, to mountain bike (which I did competitively for several years), or to photograph the local wildlife.

Fresh out of high school, I became a carpenter's assistant and started learning the trade. Trucks would deliver bulk supplies of lumber and materials to the job site. After hauling many truckload piles of this lumber on my shoulder to the build spot, I started to wonder, "Where did this wood come from? In what forest did it grow and what species is it?" After a few years of that (and some strange looks by the boss), I called it quits. I later worked in a few wood mills. At one mill, trucks would come in from far and wide with what seemed like a whole forest on the flatbed. We made store fixtures there. At another mill we made wooden toys and blocks with lots of sandpaper. It all seemed like we were embarrassing the forests to me. There had to be better ways of harvesting and using the wood from trees.

With the scrap wood I'd take home from the mills, I began making furniture. Without much money for lumber, I had come up with more resourceful ways to obtain wood, so I learned about how to salvage wood and to mill my own lumber. During this time, I also had the opportunity to hone my woodworking skills when working for a furnituremaker who specialized in hand-crafted furniture from reclaimed wood.

My specialty is building small tables and furniture. I accept commissions.

Michael Amaral Furniture   Locally Made, Environmentally Fine™
Cumberland, RI | | 401-688-0767

All photography by Michael Amaral. Web design by Vaxa Creative.