YEW WOOD TREASURES

John McKenzie of Yew Wood Treasures was born in Kamloops. B.C. but spent most of his youth on the west coast of Vancouver Island and later resided in Victoria.

He has always enjoyed working with wood. When his oldest grandson showed an interest and talent in wood work, they began to work together in John's garage creating gifts for family and friends from Yew Wood he had collected. When John saw the beautiful pieces of left over wood he knew he couldn't let it go to waste, so he started creating his bracelets, which lead to other ideas.

The Yew Wood John uses comes mostly from the Tofino area. It has been left to dry for up to two years. It is a hard wood full of beautiful colours and grains. This challenges his imagination and makes for unique and original pieces of art. He finishes his work with tung oil which gives it a soft and silky feeling and warm glow.