Welcome to Flair Woodworks!  My name is Chris Wong, and I am proud to be a business owner.  After nine years of woodworking as a hobby, I opened Flair Woodworks in 2008 to produce original woodwork out of my shop in Port Moody, British Columbia.  As anyone who knows me will tell you, I live and breathe woodworking.  I share my knowledge and experience with a broad audience with the aid of my blog, internet forums, and articles which I write.  I am a Contributing Editor of Canadian Home Workshop and have had numerous articles featured in the magazine.

I draw a lot of inspiration from my environment, including the materials with which I work.  Often, I will find one piece of wood with extraordinary colour or figure and will use it as the focal point in the project.  Accommodating a design to work with the wood, rather than forcing the wood to conform to the design is, to me, what separates the hand-crafted from the mass-produced.  Taking the time to find the best materials and figure out how to use them to their full potential is what makes each piece absolutely unique and full of character.

Knowing how to best use the materials is one thing; knowing where to get the best materials is another.  That’s why I’ve teamed up with local sawyer Dave Kilpatrick.  He specializes in turning downed trees into high-quality lumber.  This allows me access to lumber that is otherwise simply not available, whether it be in the form of enormous crotches of Western maple or a species not commercially logged such as Pacific dogwood or fruit cherry.  Most lumber exhibits spectacular colouring and often wild figure as well.  All of the lumber Dave mills comes from local trees that have been brought down for reasons other than it’s market value (such as storms), so the environmental impact is minimal.  I have a good supply of various species of wood on hand in the form of slabs and blocks suitable for carving or turning.  If you are in need of a special piece of wood for a project, click over to the Contact page and drop me a line.  If I don’t have what you need, I can ask Dave to keep an eye out for that special piece and he will mill it to your specifications.

Most commissions start out with a client approaching me looking for something to fulfill a specific need.  Often, the client has a general idea of what the finished piece should look like and we work together to produce a workable design.  Sometimes, the client will provide rough dimensions and I am free to work out the design on my own.

  Projects like this are very similar to creating speculative work in that I have virtually no restrictions on what I make.  My best work is that by which I am inspired.

Check out my Portfolio and see what puts the Flair in my woodwork!  And let me know if I can fulfill your dreams.  Maybe you need a special present for a wedding, a table to fit in your entrance, or a nice pen to show your friends.  Or perhaps you have an idea for the perfect project but just need to find the right piece of wood - one that speaks to you.  Make your way to the Contact page.  Let me know what you think of my projects, my writing, my site, or anything else.  Live inspired!