It’s a pest and a weed, introduced from East Asia and found along most of the east coast,
invading pastures and stifling native species. Camphor Laurel, an evergreen, is a tree reviled
by many – but to Lawrence Clain it’s the backbone of his business.
Originally from the Blue Mountains, Lawrence relocated here over 15 years ago with the
idea of building yurts. He’d become disillusioned with carpentry – ‘I didn’t like the building
industry’, he tells me, ‘didn’t like just knocking up cheap pine-frame houses.’
The yurt idea, however, became side-tracked. Working at a local timber mill he met the
owner of Le Chop, the former chopping board market stallholder, and started working for
him. When the opportunity to buy the business presented itself, Lawrence took it, gradually
over the years building it up in the workshop, wholesale and online – and of course at the
markets. A year ago he and his partner opened a shop in Lismore, supplying it with tables,
shelving, desks, coffee tables – all made out of camphor laurel.
Myocum-based Lawrence loves the whole creative side of carpentry, and especially the
boards, attempting as far as possible to minimise waste. The natural holes and knots in the
timber he seals off with resin, which is why you’ll see those beautiful seams and layers and
panels of mainly blues and greens in the chopping boards. ‘Normally’, he says, ‘people
would chuck out the heart of the wood – its very centre – but I started to fill them in with
resin.’ He mixes powdered pigments to make the colours. All the carving he does himself –
(‘I’m a bit obsessive’) – and he tries to go with the natural flow of the timber. No two boards
are the same.
The other great aspect is the antibacterial and anti-fungal properties of camphor laurel,
providing the safest surfaces for food preparation.
Valley of Craftsmen is at Mullumbimby every Friday from 7 – 11am
Victoria Cosford
