Rose Ironwood is a rare North American tree species recently discovered for it’s gorgeous tri-color mineralization. It is actually an immediate member of the Rose family. Cercocarpus
ledifolius wood is one of the hardest woods in the world, commonly grouped into the “Ironwood”
family of woods so hard and dense that they sink in water.
The wood in all our art pieces is not stained or covered in clearcoat in any way. It is the Actual
wood you are touching, which naturally polishes to its beautiful sheen when worked and buffed.

Native to California and is also found outside of California, but is confined to western North
America. The wood native to big bear lake is a higher altitude with a unique mineral content
from the mountains which combine to produce very rich colors and the special fiddle backing
used in the most expensive musical instruments i.e. collector quality violins.
The Wood Paul and Julie Wendling, (founders of the Rose Ironwood Forge Company) carefully
choose are from trees that recently expired, due to old age, or were cleared by the National
Park Fire fighters for firebreaks. Many of the center rootball pieces have more than 1,100 years
of growth rings, so tightly packed together that you need a microscope to properly count. Most
Mountain mahogany plants are in bushy form, and it is rare that the wood forms logs big enough
to turn into lumber that is workable. To mill the lumber, we have to cut it using granite stone
slabbing techniques. Rose Ironwood Forge is the only one who has ever slabbed Rose
Ironwood, in the world, and turned it into gorgeous works of art and bespoke custom furniture. It
cannot be found elsewhere.

Paul and Julie Wendling are the artists bringing you this wood, and are also natives of Big Bear
Ca. Along with our team with the knowledge and love of wood we are able to bring out the
beauty of what Mother Nature has taken so long to create. Paul is a master artist and has been
commissioned to bring custom works of art to the finest museums, motion picture, commercial,
and clients from all over the world. They both have a background in clothing/costume, design,
and enjoy lampworking, wood, ceramics, and lapidary artwork. We are currently building our
own custom log cabins in Big Bear City CA.