In the eyes of the Silvia family, the versatility of timber is endless. Every old length offers a new beginning. There’s always something special about handcrafted goods, and even more so when they’re sustainable.
Repurposing pre-loved materials is the gift that keeps on giving for SecondLife Recrafted – a small Central Coast business that embodies such a mantra. Husband and wife duo Mark and Katie Silvia from Saratoga have turned a hobby into a side-hustle by breathing new life into reclaimed timbers.
The most unique part of the process is preserving the history of the salvaged pieces, so that people can reconnect with the origins of their goods, such as through their ‘Coastie Collections’.
“Our Coastie Collections are some of our most recent board collections whose materials have been sourced locally, and whose histories Coast locals can connect with,” Katie told Coasties.
“We name the boards after the suburbs they’ve come from, and we give our customers some information about how the timber was sourced, or even what part of a structure it came from.
“As the materials often have their own nail holes or quirky features from their first life, each recrafted piece is unique and tells a story.”
Boards from Copacabana, Saratoga, Empire Bay and Killarney Vale can be purchased alongside others traced to the Western Sydney Aerotropolis and Wollstonecraft Train Station.
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In addition, gorgeous wine-soaked woods from old wine barrels are used to make unique cheese and grazing platters. You can even pick up a pair of recrafted wooden cheese knives to go with them. Or to deviate from food, there’re beautiful tea light timbers and dried flower vases donning a minimalist, timeless design that will last a lifetime.
“I think people are definitely moving away from burning through resources and using new materials all the time,” Katie said.
“Sustainability is important. I feel like the more we see how environments and the world in general are changing, the more we want to prioritise it. It’s about doing what we can now for the future.”
A tradie of 20 years, Mark is in charge of the tools while Katie manages the marketing and admin side of SecondLife Recrafted. On top of that, both of them juggle family life with two young daughters in tow.
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After seeing beautiful, durable timbers go to landfill simply to make way for new developments, Mark was determined to shift the industry’s wasteful mindset with his sustainable craftsmanship. He started by collecting discarded timber from a project he was contracted to late last year. In the garage at home, the father-of-two worked on building custom-designed, one-off Christmas presents for his family, including some of his renowned chopping boards. What was originally intended to be a leisure activity has since turned into a proper business that takes up enough time to be a full-time gig.
“I’ve had the idea for a while to make things out of recycled timber. The first lot of timber I sourced was from unbolted bench seats, the next came from a large building demolition, and recently I’ve been buying some from a local demo yard,” Mark said.
“The timber I source, and how it turns out after a clean-up and cut back, governs what it can be.
“I just don’t like wastage. With the time it takes for a native hardwood to reach full maturity, for it to only be used once and then thrown out when it still has so much life left in it just doesn’t sit right with me.”
Their philosophy has led to their success on the Central Coast, and you can visit their Instagram or website to purchase your own recrafted piece.
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