WOOD CARVING WITH BRANDON KROON

Husqvarna interviewed Brandon Kroon and Mila Kamber, the homeowner, to get an insight into Brandon's latest project.

Q Briefly explain how you came to hire Brandon Kroon?

Maya

I reached out to Brandon after Maya, our beloved husky, passed away. Nick and I commissioned him to carve her and were completely blown away with the outcome. When our landscaping started to take shape, the logs were beckoning his unique skills. We both knew he would exceed our expectations, and we weren’t wrong.

Q What did Maya ask for when she initially contacted you?

Brandon 

Their front driveway was lined with 6 cypress trees that came down in a massive storm. They had kept the trees and the landscaper integrated them into the overall landscape design, concreting them into the gardens that lined the stairs that flowed down to the home. It was at this point they contacted me to carve into the 6 cypress logs.

Q What was your vision for the landscaping?

Maya

Our garden was properly smashed during the June 21 storms, so it looked pretty tragic before we teamed up with RB Landscapes. Our vision was more like hope for a less muddy future.

The layout was steered by the practical hills challenges: access down a steep block, earth retention/erosion control, use of unused space and integrating natural and repurposed material including the logs.

The logs were reinstated along the granite stair to commemorate the row of 6 cypress trees that fell down that evening and gave us a night to remember. From a creative view we hoped to encourage visitors to take their time, take it all in on the way down. Like a trail of wonder.  The view overlooking the house is breathtaking so by creating this trail of carvings, plants and granite and scenery people forgive us for the 563 steps.

Q Did you liaise with the landscaper to determine where each carving would be placed?

Brandon

A site visit happened before we decided what to carve, some of the logs were wider and could then fit larger animals, for the skinny logs we had to choose small animals. Logs have a sap wood outer layer so you must have a healthy sturdy large log to create larger animal carvings.

Q Who came up with the idea of integrating the carvings and why did you choose Australian Native Animals?

Maya

We collectively decided. In part inspired by Brandon's work, and because these animals are locals and live or visit here. We see them on the security cameras often. They are what you see and hear living in the Dandenong Ranges, so it seemed appropriate.

Brandon

Each day we checked the progression and finished a carving and then decided on what animal should be carved next and where it should be positioned. We had to consider both angles of the stairs and what you see on the walk up and down, how the animal shape worked on the logs and how it was viewed from the home. We wanted to be adventurous so they were all at different heights, some were even in holes! We wanted it to have a bit of mystery, where people would have to really look to find the animals.

For the lyrebird we used the biggest & healthiest looking log, it needed a lot of strength to hold the lyrebird tail, it can be a fragile design. The other large logs feature a possum and a black cockatoo. The small logs have carvings of an echidna, a snail and an owl.

Q Why do you choose to use Husqvarna chainsaws for your carving work?

Brandon

The carvings were done on-site, so I needed a range of tools to be able to complete such a special project. Starting with the 572 XP® I would carve out the rough shape of the log, then after the big sections had been carved off the focus is shifted to shaping I would use the 550 XP® Mark II these where used to hollow out and fine tune the shape of the carving, then finally a combination of the 340i & 540i XP® are used for most of the details. 

Reliability is needed in jobs like this where you're in particularly tight and awkward positions, you want to be using reliable equipment, you want something that’s going to have enough power but also light enough to do the job well, you want premium equipment, so that’s why I use Husqvarna Chainsaws.

Precise detail is needed when the detail needs to be millimetre perfect in a piece. The saw needs to be steady and stable with no vibrations. That’s why I use battery saws for the detailed work. I can't have the tip of a saw jumping when I'm carving out an eyeball, and as they are lighter with no fumes, its great for tight awkward spaces and long hot days of work.

Q What has been the overall response to the carvings now sitting in your yard and how does it make you feel seeing them in your yard everyday?

Maya

The landscaping has become an informal local attraction. Especially for the neighbours who watched it all unfold from a disaster to our happy place. Sometimes tourists come wandering down to have a look.

We feel privileged. And are constantly admiring the carvings. They all have names.

Some of Brandon's Husqvarna Tools of Choice

Husqvarna chainsaws are equipped with features that make them easy to use, dependable and robust, while still giving the power for excellent performance at all times. Designed for convenience and demanding use, Husqvarna electric chainsaws produce fewer vibrations and zero direct Co2 emissions during use and gives the freedom to achieve nearly any design, even native animal carvings!

To achieve a high level of detail, Brandon utilised a range of Husqvrana chainsaw products. For the initial log carving, Brandon chose the 572 XP® 24" paired with a tough light bar and the XCut® 3/8" .058" (1.5mm) 84 C85 chain. For the finer details, Brandon used the 540i XP® paired with the 10” Carving bar 10CAH.13.S 10" 1/4" .050 60DL and the Husqvarna X-Precision™ SP11G chain.

You can find more info on the Husqvarna chainsaw innovations at Husqvarna Chainsaws.image8