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MOSSEL BAY NEWS & VIDEO - There was consternation when a tall Norfolk pine was felled in Marsh Street at the end of June.
The droppings from cattle egrets who favoured the tree caused a constant mess on the pavement below it and residents complained.
When the tree was chopped down some people were concerned the egrets would move to trees near the Point.
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Some residents pointed out that both the egrets and the tree were not indigenous, the egrets having only migrated to South Africa in the early 1900s.
But a Mossel Bay local, who is a designer in wood and a cabinet maker, spotted a 10 metre section of the trunk and arranged that if he removed it, he could keep it and he fashioned items of beauty from it.
Using the full width of the trunk as part of the design, he created a unique double-sided workstation for a hairdresser - a type of table and chairs - where a client would sit.
This is only one of the unusual pieces of furniture Jan Chomse has made.
His daughter is a hairdresser and her salon is full of Jan's handiwork.
One of Jan's beautiful items.
He says: "I enjoy creating and designing one-off pieces. I don't copy anything.
"All my work is original." Jan has even made wash basins from wood.
He seals them with epoxy, which gives them a beautiful sheen and ensures they are waterproof.
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What makes Jan's work even more appealing is that he often seeks out trees which have been "dead for decades", and aliens such as blue gums, for his handiwork, so he is not depleting valuable indigenous wood stocks.
"I spend a lot of time out in the veld," he says. He also enjoys making items from sleeper wood and combining wood with metal and even using rusty items as features in his creations.
His current project is a unique timber home he is building for his brother in Dana Bay.
One of his wooden wash basins will take pride of place there.
What an imagination!
Jan has no formal training, but he took woodwork as a subject at school and his father was a carpenter in the building trade.
"I grew up in that environment," he says. His passion for his art is not without a price. He has suffered damage to a finger and toe, which he points out matter of factly.
ARTICLE, VIDEO & PHOTOS: LINDA SPARG, MOSSEL BAY ADVERTISER JOURNALIST
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