When we started the renovation of our studio in the Scott’s Addition neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia, a friend in construction recommended we talk to the guys at Surface Architectural Supply. As photographers of architecture and interiors, we were immediately impressed with the beautiful reclaimed wood surfaces in their showroom and the space itself.

When Alston Thompson Photography sat down with Kirsten and Hunter Webb, owners of Surface Architectural Supply, we asked them how they would explain the benefit of old growth timber to someone who may not know much about wood. Hunter likened it to a Stradivarius violin. While the craftsmanship of a Stradivarius is second to none, the wood is where the magic really happens. Antonio Stradivari hand picked the trees he used in the Fiemme Valley of the Italian Alps where spruce trees in that climate and that particular altitude form what is called “Il Bosco Che Suona” - The Musical Woods. Webb goes on to say “Old wood is different. Anyone who cares just understands that. When you see the tightness of the grain….what it’s really about is how the trees were allowed to grow.

"You can't fake 100 years of wind, rain, and sun."

Most of the stuff people are growing today is farmed, but a tree that grows up in a competitive forest doesn’t get as much light, it grows slower, the ring count is tighter; it’s reaching and growing straight because that’s where the light is. In a farming situation the trees don’t grow many branches, they grow up faster. Because it’s easier for them to grow, the wood is less dense. Using our reclaimed wood keeps this material out of the landfill, we are honoring the generations before us by reusing their captured energy in these materials. A lot of the things we have are unique; once they are repurposed there is no more like them. You can’t fake 100 years of wind, rain, and sun. I can spot the