A Bit About Us
oday’s world of furniture and décor is dominated by low cost, mass manufactured, foreign-made knockdown furniture constructed largely of particle board and plywood covered in many cases with plastic (fake) wood grain laminates. While there is a place for this kind of clever imitation wood furniture and decor due to its low cost and practical utility, we think it is often unimaginative and uninspiring, and it lacks durability.
By contrast, works from Terrae Galleries are always limited editions made of the finest hardwoods crafted to the highest standards of precision and artistic beauty. We use time-tested, strong joinery methods, and hand select only the very best woods and hardware. Our designs are bold, contemporary and eye-catching, and will inspire you with their authenticity and beauty. Make your interior space a personal reflection of your flair for the extraordinary. We will meet and exceed your high standards with our creations. The commitment to excellence in our works is matched only by the commitment we make to your satisfaction as our customer.
DAVE PANSEN
Meet Dave
Dave began woodworking in the mid 1990s in Charlotte, North Carolina. Starting with only rudimentary tools and working in his garage, he developed his passion for woodworking by continually learning and designing and building new things, and by assembling an increasingly sophisticated shop. Today Dave has a fully equipped, modern woodworking shop in northern Georgia, and pursues woodworking professionally as both a designer and maker. “In the 1990s I studied at the Marc Adams School of Woodworking near Indianapolis, taking an apprenticeship class with Stephen Proctor, a renowned furniture designer and maker. From that point on I made woodworking a regular part of my life. Now I am very pleased to devote myself to woodworking through my own company, Terrae Galleries.”
Why I Love to Work with Wood.
Humans have a very long and very beneficial relationship with wood stretching back thousands of years. Overall wood has been an abundant and renewable resource for fueling our fires, making tools, building shelters, inventing vehicles for land, sea, and air, and ultimately too as a media for artistic expression in architecture, sculpture, and furnishings. All through human history wood has been there traveling along with us, deeply integrated into our lives, and supporting, enabling, and encouraging our progress. These things by themselves make wood an interesting and engaging material for me as a designer and craftsman.
But my appreciation for wood goes farther. I think of wood as a profound expression of the unity of the natural world. The tree marks the passing of seasons on its growth rings, recording an indelible trace of the sky’s gifts of rain, air, and sunshine, and the earth’s gifts of nutrients and support. When we harvest the wood, and cut it into lumber, the growth rings are transformed into the stunning appearance of the wood’s grain and color. The tree as a living thing has painted upon itself the swirl and dance of time as the earth spins and revolves around the sun, and it is beautiful. When I lend my eyes and hands to the crafting of wood, I have a reverence for it as truly “of the earth” in this very meaningful way. That is why we named our company “Terrae.” “Terrae” is the Latin word meaning “of the earth.”
So, next time you find yourself staring in amazement at the beauty of wood grain and color, remember also that wood has a rich history with mankind. It is a wonderful expression of both life and time on earth, and of the unity of all things in the cosmos. It is a true gift of nature.
Walnut lumber raw from the mill
Walnut lumber panels ready to sand