Today we’d like to introduce you to Jessica Van Arsdale and Daniel Herbst.
Over 10 years ago, Dan had seen Caltrans workers taking out trees on the side of the road. Being a resourceful maker, he stopped and asked what they were going to do with the trees. Normally they get mulched or turned to firewood.
He got bit with the bug to acquire and utilize these trees. A fellow artist loaned him a chainsaw and he cut his first tree and milled the wood. San Diego Urban Timber has had a few partners during its growth, but one solid steward and that is Dan.
5 years ago life brought the core of what SDUT is now in the form of Sal and Jessica.
Sal is a workhorse who is also passionate about urban wood, dedicated to the idea that he gets to do creative work daily rather than manufacturing a repetitive product.
Jessica brought a passion for color and resin to the scene as well as a background of working with county agencies in collaborative processes.
This team is solid.
We value our relationships immensely, and know that communication and clarity are the keys to our success. We help people realize their creative visions. Each piece we make is a collaborative process. We ask lots of questions, send designs back and forth. We love to see people get what they truly want.
SDUT has a plan to leave a legacy here in Southern California. We’re driven to represent these urban trees and where other’s in our industry would rather lay low and just make their craft, we’re ready to step forward and help create a shift in consciousness on how urban trees are seen and used.
Currently we’re working with Balboa Park in a pilot program to reclaim the trees in the park and creating a hub where other woodworkers can access the “material.”
We’ve recently had the pleasure of bringing the City of Chula Vista in as one of our resources, and because they’re working with us we can offer our bigger vision to the City of San Diego.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This career choice is intense. We’re using a product that is invisible to most people or seen as trash to others.
Through the 10 years it was thought that getting the trees was the hardest part. Dan used to get the logs on his own using a chainsaw, leverage and low-grade insanity. These trees fall in tough terrain, hills and urban scenes with fences and obstacles. Each log acquired was a major. Then the storing, milling, storing, kilning, has to be done. For a while all of those things were in different places so the logs had to be moved at each stage.
Over the years we’ve reinvested in the company. Always upgrading equipment and looking to a bigger future for us and our crew. We have a team of three. They each are makers and have their own identities and creative ventures outside of SD Urban Timber. Now that we have solid foundation we continue to successfully do business in San Diego as people learn that our business model has no downsides. It serves the trees, the environment, the maker, the tree company, the homeowner, and our clients.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
We work with local urban trees, an unseen potential resource for most people.
Our pieces are unique due to the local exotic wood we use, Dan’s artistic eye and willingness to innovative. We’ve been fortunate to be in a great group of designers, woodworkers and artists who inspire and challenge us to stay on the frontside of this creative industry.
We thrive on clarity. Our price list is on the wall of the shop. We’ve made this wood available to the public in many formats.
A person can come buy a raw slab, or simply flattened and sanded or finished by us. We offer a range with no attitude.
Currently, we’re very proud of our inroads with Balboa Park. It’s been torture to watch them take down historic trees and send them to the mulcher because they lack policies to be able to do anything else. With the help of Friends of Balboa Park, we’ve been able to begin the shift.
What sets us apart is that we see our business as a multi-beneficial octopus. The head is urban timber and the tentacles are all the ways we’re unknowingly affected by trees. Our job is to steward all of the legs and get them up and running in a healthy way. So, we are attending to a lot in both the short and long term.
Our gift for all the hard work is to be able to make rad, big art!
Contact Info:
- Address: 922 Industrial Blvd. Chula Vista, CA 91911
- Website: www.SDurbantimber.com
- Phone: 619-207-4084
- Email: info@sdurbantimber.com
- Instagram: San Diego Urban Timber
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