The Basking Ridge Oak Collection Goes On Sale Thursday

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Here's your chance to own a piece of Basking Ridge's historic 600-year-old great white oak tree, that was cut down in April 2017.

Owners of Forged in Wood of Basking Ridge, Keith Keiling and David Schneck will be hosting an event to sell items from "The Basking Ridge Oak Collection" at The Rebecca Collection at 2 Mine Brook Road in the center of Bernardsville on Thursday, Dec. 6 between 6 and 9 p.m.

A total of 10 percent of all sales will go back to the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church.

"The Basking Ridge Oak Collection" will include items such as wooden cheese boards, blocks of decorative wood, pens crafted using the wood, ornaments, candle centerpieces, pendant necklaces, and other pieces of unique art.

Custom orders or requests can be sent directly to info@forgedinwood.net.

Looking at the items in the photos, some may notice the dark part on the top of the cheese board. That is due to staining in the wood from the steel bolts and rods that were in the tree. The color looks very black in some areas and a deep blue in others.

"It is how we came up with the forged part of Forged in Wood," said Sarah Keiling.

Keiling and Schneck have an agreement with the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Church to take responsibility for all expenses involved in the storage, processing and marketing of the wood from the tree.

To honor the tree, Keiling and Schneck are using every little piece of it, even the shavings, to craft a remembrance piece.

Schneck also has plans to craft two electric guitars from the wood in the future.

Items will also soon be sold online, once a web site is launched Patch will announce it for readers.

• See Related: Basking Ridge's 600 Year Old Ancient Tree Has Died
• Related: Tears Flow As 600-Year-Old NJ Tree Is Being Cut Down
• Related: A Slice Of History: Basking Ridge Oak Tree Is Full Of 'Surprises'
• Related: Basking Ridge Oak Tree Was 619 Years Old
• Related: Film Preserving Memory Of Basking Ridge's Ancient Oak Completed
• Related: Benches Carved From Basking Ridge's Great Oak Donated To Students
• Related: 8,400 Pound Memorial Created From Basking Ridge's Great Oak Tree

(Images via Sarah Keiling with permission)

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