Elegant gifts made of wood & gift ideas made of wood

Huizbirn René Riebenbauer im s´Fachl Graz

Who I am and what my motivation is behind it.

To the history

Nature, trees and wood have always aroused my interest.

Maybe it's also due to a certain hereditary "predisposition", as my grandfather was a trained carpenter and had a small farm to manage.

In any case, as a child I followed him wherever he went or accompanied him on the green 15 Steyr tractor.

No matter whether it's mowing, harvesting hay, feeding or even doing woodwork.

The lack of interest and perhaps especially due to the early death of my grandfather meant that craft activities took a back seat.

However, the interest in trees and plants remained, even though I didn't actually know what to do with this interest.

The beginnings

In 2015, I was forced to focus on crafts due to building a house. Until one day the idea came to me to sand down tree trunks and use them as wooden flower stools in my new home. This reawakened my creative spirit to work with wood.

Finally, I decided to make my own wall clock for our kitchen-dining area.

That's when I came up with the idea of making these out of a tree slice. After a bit of tinkering, I managed to do this to my satisfaction - the clock still hangs in the dining area today and reminds me of my beginnings every day.

After a short time I noticed that there was actually interest in my wall clocks . I then decided without further ado to put my trading business as a small business owner on hold and to register a small business in the arts and crafts sector.

However, after more wall clocks, new ideas came along and the range grew.

... and suddenly you're turning!

Finally, I came across the topic of “turning” through various videos, which quickly aroused my curiosity.

Through a friend, I accidentally came across an ancient, self-made lathe that could hardly be described as such. Despite initial problems and inadequate equipment, the topic immediately captivated me.

After more detailed research, I quickly decided to buy a Hans Schreiner table lathe. Since several hundred euros had to be invested here, I wasn't at all sure about it, but I quickly picked up the lathe from the Holzprofi company in Pöllau.

This was followed by initial attempts, lots of videos and further internet research - and further investments such as turning irons, turning chucks, drill chucks, drills, kits and much more.

A woodturning course at the Neureiter company with “Holzmichl” Michael Wagner, who is well-known in the scene, followed in order to acquire the basic knowledge in a professional environment.

After turning long wood and decorative objects, other ideas gradually came, such as wooden bottle openers , wooden wine stoppers and wooden writing instruments . Attempts at turning wood in crossbars, as well as bowls and plates, followed.

Drechselbank Twister FU-180 Standversion

it goes on...

After about 2 years, however, I realized more and more that the small Hans Schreiner lathe offered too little power, too little weight and a center height that was now too low.

So this time I decided to dig deeper into my pockets. A Drechselmeister Twister-FU-180 was purchased as a table version from the Neureiter company in Söding.

Unfortunately, the next problem emerged - namely a space problem. Previously the garage had been used as a “workshop”, but it now offered hardly any space. Dust and chips in the garage were also a nuisance.

At the beginning of 2019, I decided to separate a part under our terrace as a workshop and to move the production of my wooden products from the garage to the workshop.

... and now?

After all these years, the hobby and my important balance has remained and I can no longer imagine life without it - even though I am now the proud dad of two wonderful sons.

Time is short, but especially in the evenings I find the opportunity to indulge in my favorite activity.

My products are now represented on various platforms and marketplaces such as Regionalis , Shöpping , Etsy and Amazon handmade . I also work with various stationary partners such as

or my products are available there.

If I somehow find time in between, I also enjoy exhibiting at a market - because there has to be variety.

What is important to me...

What gives me the greatest joy is the thought that each of my products usually brings a lot of joy to another person and puts a smile on their face!

That's why I attach particular importance to ensuring that the quality of my products is right.

For example, that wood from the region is used, the surface is cleanly finished and the products are surface-treated according to their intended use - namely exclusively food-safe or natural!

And finally...

The nice things about my hobby are definitely that my two sons and my wife already enjoy my balance.

Above all, my wife Elisabeth supports me tirelessly - for which I can't thank her enough.

I hope I can continue to pursue my craft for many years to come - especially without injury - and bring joy to many more customers.

Oh yes:

If I had the chance, I would love to spend another day with my grandfather Anton and, as a trained carpenter, show him all the great things that have been created and are being created on his former piece of farmland.