From a single lightning-struck willow at Baldwin Lake, twelve legacy tables — each carrying the story of the tree, the hands that shaped it, and the families who will gather around it next.
Willow stood for a generation at Baldwin Lake in Union, Michigan — part of the family's landscape. When it came to the end of its life, we chose to keep it rather than haul it away.
I
Alive at the water
For years the willow leaned over Baldwin Lake, a fixture of summers and family gatherings — the tree you rowed past, the shade you sat under.
II
The decision
When the tree declined, the easy path was a chipper and a stump grinder. Instead we called for a careful removal, and set out to give the wood a second life.
III
Brought down with care
Omer Schlabach and Precision Tree Removal took the willow down piece by piece and moved the trunk to Timber Hollow Sawmill — not as waste, but as material.
IV
What was inside
The first cut told the truth of the tree — decades of rings, dark heartwood, and the wild figure that only a willow this old can hold.
V
Milled into boards
Measured, quartered and milled, the willow became a small, finite set of boards. From one tree: twelve tables, and no more.
In print
Documented in Elkhart Living.
Willow's second life has been followed chapter by chapter in Elkhart Living Magazine — from the tree at the lake to the first finished table, delivered. Five chapters, written and photographed by Mary Hoien.
“For me, this willow wasn't just a tree—she was a witness. She stood long before I ever arrived at the lake, and over the years she became part of our family's rhythm: quiet mornings on the dock, late-night talks, storms rolling in, and the kind of stillness you only get near the water.”Nate Rhoden · Elkhart Living, December 2025
“When she finally died, I couldn't let her story end with a stump. We saved her heartwood, preserved what we could, and now we're giving her a second life as a series of tables—pieces that will outlive all of us.”Nate Rhoden · Elkhart Living, December 2025
“Just like people, each tree has its own character.”John Yutzy · Maple City Furniture & Finishing
“My hope is that long after we’re gone, someone will gather around this table, wonder where it came from, and discover the story behind it.”Nate Rhoden · Elkhart Living, August 2026
The chapters
Ch. I · Nov 2025Join Us on the Journey from Trees to TreasuresCh. II · Dec 2025Willow's Second ChapterCh. III · May 2026The Willow Project — Black Willow ProcessCh. IV · Jul 2026Black Willow Begins to EmergeCh. V · Aug 2026The Final TouchCh. V · Aug 2026The Vision Fulfilled
As featured in Elkhart Living Magazine — tap a chapter to read the full page.
The proof · No. I of XII
Black Willow.
Before you commission a table, it is fair to want to see what one becomes. This is No. I — black willow from Baldwin Lake, the voids filled and stabilised, finished to a glass surface, on a blackened steel base. She is the one table that is never for sale.
No. I of XII, whole — the full live-edge top on its blackened steel base, in the room she works in every day. Owned by DTI Home Products, LLC.
Head onThe whole top from one end — the fill running out to the live edge on both sides.The baseBlackened steel, splayed from a single centre column.In daylightThe same table with the window on her — the figure reads differently in every light.Down her lengthBoth edges left where the tree put them, end to end.
Every table carries its number, the lake it came from, and the hands that made it — burned into the wood, not applied to it.
No. I was finished by Jonathan Lehman at Live Edge Venture and hand-finished by John Yutzy at Maple City Furniture & Finishing in Goshen — two coats of acrylic polyurethane, each allowed to cure before the next. The epoxy was sanded back and poured again rather than left at good enough. She is complete.
The fillBlack epoxy where the tree left voids — sanded back and poured a second time rather than left at good enough.The finishTwo coats of acrylic polyurethane, each cured before the next. The reflection is the point.Up closeWillow this old holds figure no other local hardwood does.
You are welcome to see her in person and put your hands on her before you commission your own — she is in daily use as our own conference table, which is the honest test of a finish. A finished table you can stand at says more than any photograph.
Provenance is usually a certificate. Here it is a short list of people who each treated this tree as their own, all of them working within a few miles of the lake she grew beside.
Felled and milled
Precision Tree Removal
Omer Schlabach took Willow down when she died and put her through a sawmill rather than a chipper. It was his account of her size and beauty that convinced Elkhart Living the story was worth following at all.
Designed and built
Live Edge Venture
Jonathan Lehman built No. I and will build yours. When the epoxy came out beautiful but not perfect, he sanded it back, poured it again, and accepted the delay. Millersburg, Indiana.
Finished by hand
Maple City Furniture & Finishing
John Yutzy has finished furniture on the east side of Goshen for sixteen years, alongside his son Isaiah and with Geneva running the office. Two coats of acrylic polyurethane, each left to cure fully before the next.
None of them is a supplier. Willow passed through three sets of hands and every one of them can be looked up, telephoned, and asked what they did to her. That is the provenance. The engraving on the underside only records it.
The edition of twelve
Nine of the twelve, yours to shape.
From one tree, only twelve tables — each numbered No. __ of 12. One is finished, two are kept, and nine remain to be built.We sell finished tables only. You choose which willow becomes yours, and we shape the base, the finish and the engraving with you. What varies between them is the wood itself — its size, its figure, and how it broke — and that is what sets the price.
These are working photographs, not portraits — taken on the gravel at the mill with the chalk still on the face. The red numbers are the sawyer’s, and they are where every measurement here comes from. They are mill numbers, not edition numbers: Black Willow already carries #1 of 12, burned into her underside in 2024, and the rest take their number when they are finished.
Eight are measured and ready to be built. The width varies end to end because a willow does, and one of the eight is two inches shorter than the rest for the same reason. This is the wood, not a spec sheet.
A finished table begins at $19,500.
You are looking at boards, and the price is for a table. We build finished pieces only, so that figure covers the whole of it: the top milled and stabilised, the base built to your choice, the finish, the engraved mark carrying its number and the lake, and the provenance folio. Where a particular table sits above that comes down to the wood — its width, its figure, and what the tree did to it.
Delivery is included within 30 miles of Goshen and quoted to your address beyond that. Sales tax is added at invoice. The table you choose and what it costs are settled in conversation — there is no checkout here.
Marked 1 · availableA dark burl and void at one end47 to 55 wide · 112 longAsk about this one →Marked 2 · availableAs she came off the mill46 to 51 wide · 110 longAsk about this one →Marked 3 · availableAs she came off the mill41 to 51½ wide · 112 longAsk about this one →Marked 4 · availableAs she came off the mill41 to 51½ wide · 112 longAsk about this one →Marked 5 · availableAs she came off the mill45 to 51½ wide · 112 longAsk about this one →Marked 6 · availableA burl and a void through the centre40 to 51½ wide · 112 longAsk about this one →Marked 7 · availableThe widest of the eight47 to 56 wide · 112 longAsk about this one →Marked 8 · availableBurl across the whole face38 to 51 wide · 112 longAsk about this one →In the kiln · dryingMeasured and photographed when she comes out.In the kiln · dryingMeasured and photographed when she comes out.In the kiln · dryingMeasured and photographed when she comes out.
The last three are still in the kiln. They are measured and photographed the day they come out and not before — and when they do, one joins the nine offered and two become the tables we keep.
Finished portraits follow as each table is built. We show the wood first because it is the part we cannot change.
Not ready to choose one yet?
Leave your email and we will send the portraits as each table is finished — the wood you have just looked at, built.
Come see the wood, or reserve remotely. Each is one of twelve — priced by its size, figure and character.
02
Design it together
Work with Jonathan Lehman of Live Edge Venture on base, finish, live-edge or poured resin, and the piece's name and theme.
03
50% begins the build
A 50% deposit reserves your named willow and starts the work. The balance is due before delivery.
04
Book & delivery
Plan on about six weeks from deposit to delivery. Your table arrives with its own provenance book and a laser-engraved mark tying it to the tree and to you.
The Edition
Twelve tables. One proof. Two kept. Nine offered.
From a single willow, only twelve tables will ever exist. Their allocation is fixed and part of the record.
No. I · Flagship
Black Willow
The proof piece — owned by DTI Home Products, LLC and viewable in person. Never for sale.
No. II–X · Offered
The Nine
The public edition — commissioned art pieces, each themed, named and numbered.
No. XI–XII · Held
Beach Willow & family
Kept by the maker and the family — crafted once the nine are placed.
The Willow Registry
Each table in the edition of twelve is recorded in the Willow Registry with its number, its name, its maker, its materials, the date it was completed and its owner of record. If a table ever changes hands, tell us and we will re-authenticate it and reissue the provenance folio to the new owner at no charge, so the record stays unbroken.
There is nothing to sign and nothing to pay. It exists so that in thirty years the twelfth owner can still prove which tree this was.
Inquire
Begin a conversation.
Tell us which one draws you and how you would use it. We place these deliberately — this is a conversation, not a checkout. We will follow up personally and, when you are ready, arrange a viewing of Black Willow at DTI.
