Cleveland's Rare Urban Sawmill Helps Make Use Of It's Great Trees

Many of us in Pittsburgh were moved by the work of Urban Tree Forge which worked to turn local trees into great works of art furniture.

Freshwater Cleveland profiles Metro Hardwoods, one of very few (and the first) urban sawmills making use of this enormous asset.

""It's nice to open up a log and find interesting patterns," he explains, pointing out in a nearby slab prized "flaws" such as a gnarled grain or burled hue. "You don't find a lot of that in trees from the country that grow straighter and have more generic grains. Grown under the stress of city conditions is where you get the character."

Word of mouth is how folks find out about Metro, says Heidelberg, who started his company at the age of 23. Lately, word seems to be spreading faster than he can keep up. Running counter to our race to the bottom in terms of fast, cheap and temporary products is a growing trend toward local, sustainable and handmade stuff. Heidelberg's locally-harvested timber fits the bill."