From National Tree to National Dog (Part 2)!
We have a number of ‘curly birch’ wood products which are hand-made by Wood Jewel in the small town of Kolari in Northern Finland (above the Arctic Circle). We have key rings, fridge magnets, bottle corks, and a necklace. All except the necklace (standing only) are available with either a sitting or a standing dog. The fridge magnets are additionally available in left-facing or right-facing versions.
The Silver Birch (Betula pendula) has been the national tree of Finland since 1988 and there are literally millions of them throughout the country. The Finnish Spitz was declared national dog of Finland a few years earlier in 1979. So it seems natural to use wood from the national birch tree to make images and products representing the national dog!
‘Curly birch’ is a genetic variety of the silver birch. Its wood has a curled grain and at various places on the trunk and branches the bark is noticeably thicker than usual. Parts of the bark appear within the wood itself as brown spots or streaks. The wood is hard and very decorative, at best resembling wooden marble. Because of this it is highly prized in Finland for use in handicrafts. Each item is unique because of the natural patterns in the wood.
See some birch wood products from Veico here
£6.00 £7.00 £6.00 £9.00 £8.00 £30.00 (earrings/necklace set), £17.00 (necklace), £15.00 (earrings)
Finnish Spitz curly birch bottle corks by Wood Jewel – £6.00
Hand-made from curly birch by Wood Jewel in Northern Finland. Two different styles are available:
- Standing dog - 4 x 8 x 3 cm, weighs 15 grams.
- Sitting dog - 4 x 10 x 3 cm, weighs 22 grams.
Each item is unique with different patterns and slight size and weight variations.
Finnish Spitz curly birch key rings by Wood Jewel – £7.00
Back in stock! Hand-made from curly birch by Wood Jewel in Northern Finland. The brass coloured key ring is attached by a thin brown leather strap passed through the body and tied underneath. Two different styles are available:
- Standing dog - 4 x 4.5 x 1.5 cm, weighs 9 grams.
- Sitting dog - 5 x 5 x 2 cm, weighs 17 grams. SOLD OUT
Each item is unique with different patterns and slight size and weight variations.
Finnish Spitz curly birch fridge magnets by Wood Jewel – £6.00 – Fox magnet only * Others SOLD OUT
Hand-made from curly birch by Wood Jewel in Northern Finland. A small round flat magnet is attached to the back of the wood. Two different styles are available:
- Standing dog - 4 x 4.5 x 1.5 cm, weighs 6 grams.
- Sitting dog - 5 x 7 x 1.5 cm, weighs 14 grams.
Each style is available in left-facing and right-facing versions, so altogether there are 4 different looking magnets. In reality though there are even more as each item is unique with different patterns and slight size and weight variations.
Finnish Spitz curly birch small necklace (rubber chain) by Wood Jewel – £9.00
Back in stock! Hand-made from curly birch by Wood Jewel in Northern Finland. The dog (standing) is much smaller and lighter than those on the other curly birch products. A black rubberised chain is attached (length 23 cm).
- Standing dog - 2 x 2 x 0.5 cm, weighs around 1 gram.
We also have similar jewellery (earrings/necklace) but with silver pin/chain here
Finnish Spitz curly birch tea ball infusers by Wood Jewel – £8.00
Back in stock! We have 3 different curly birch items each with a metal tea ball infuser and chain attached. Unscrew the ball, add your tea leaves, and screw back together before placing it in a cup or teapot, pouring on boiling water, and dangling the curly birch part over the outside of the cup or teapot. The tea ball is available with the following curly birch attachments:
- standing Finnish Spitz
- sitting Finnish Spitz SOLD OUT
- capercaillie
Finnish Spitz curly birch / silver jewellery sets by Wood Jewel (only 1 necklace & 1 earrings/necklace jewellery set left, earrings only sets SOLD)
Back in stock! Hand-made from curly birch by Wood Jewel in Northern Finland. The dog (standing) is much smaller and lighter than those on the other curly birch products. We have:
- a set of 2 earrings (silver pin) and 1 necklace (silver chain) in a plastic jewel box for £30.00 (1 only in stock).
- a necklace (same as in the set) in a plastic jewel box for £17.00 (1 only in stock).
- a pair of earrings (same as in the set) in a plastic jewel box for £15.00 SOLD OUT - please enquire about special orders for this item.