Booth Photographics & GWR

Stephanie and Stephen of Booth Photographics are basically the hero and heroine of the best, smartest kind of rom-com, only in the happily-ever-after phase. The husband-and-wife team make some mighty fine pictures, and we're lucky that they pointed their lenses and careful eyes at our wares at the Chicago NotWedding in August.

All images below are property Booth Photographics, so make sure to credit them when you spread the love!

Find us at https://gustavreyes.com/

Megan Saul Photographs Gustav Reyes Wood Rings formerly Simply Wood Rings!

Find Us at https://gustavreyes.com/

We were so happy to work with the talented and charming photographers at the NotWedding. Here's the first of three posts showcasing their work.

First up, the energetic and delightful Megan Saul, who photographed our NotWedding ring set, plus the Sky Blue Harmony set, and a hackberry, red jasper and black pearl set inspired by our NotWedding work. 

All images below are copyright Megan Saul. If you want to repost them (and you totally should!), make sure to give her the credit. 

Else-wise credit also goes to Dame Couture, who made the beautiful black-and-white gown, and Menguin, who made sure that the groom and his men folk looked sharp in tuxedos. For more information about all of the great Chicago NotWedding Vendors, head here!

Friends at Simply Wood Rings

It's always nice to put a face to the name! This was I photo I received from two if the nicest people I've ever gotten to work with!

If you have some photo's you'd like to share with us, shoot me an email!

craftsman@simplywoodrings.com

And here's a little photo of me!

Or, if you're in the area, stop on in and say hello! We're located in the fun filled area of Pilsen, in Chicago.

What wood ring will you create?

With all of the options we have for our rings, it's hard to try and decide which ring will be the best for you. Firstly, you need to decide which wood is the right wood.

We have lots of different kinds of wood, and at times out inventory my vary. Local options are always pretty abundant though!

Lovely walnut! We love walnut, whether it's light or walnut dark walnut. Walnut always seems to have a really rich color, and a good grain.

Or there's Cherry, this warm and light colored wood goes great with an inlay.

If you like something a bit more dark and red, try Juniper heart wood!

Or maybe you would choose oak. With such history and symbolism, who couldn't love the meaning and beauty behind oak.

The local woods we have here are great. Some people, however, seem to resonate more with a foreign or exotic wood. When we do get our wood, especially our exotic wood, we do our best to make sure the wood is recycled, or from a reputable source. And here are some of our favorites!

This bright beautiful red wood is really one of a kind! The color alone speaks for it's self.

Light bogwood, dark bogwood, maybe a little of both? This ancient oak from Ireland is a wonderful wood that will make a beautiful and meaning full ring full of history!

How about something with more of a natural contrast? Zebra wood should do the trick! Every ring is different, and every ring is beautiful.

Oak may have a lot of history, but not as much as this Ancient Kauri wood. This wood is 50,000 years old! The grain is like no other, the wood even has a bit of a shimmer to it.

 Rosewood, is probably our most popular wood by far. All of our rosewood comes from old and recycled xylophone keys. If you're a music lover, and like a darker richer wood, you should consider getting a rosewood ring.

Finally, there are the random, donated scrap wood pieces. Some we can identify, some we can't. So if you are looking for something really unique, that you didn't see here, why don't you give us a call! 312-590-6070

These are a few of my favorite RINGS!

Wedding season is right around the corner, and a lot of people out there are getting to work designing their wedding bands. But with all of those options out there, what is the right set for you? Do you stick to something traditional? Simply? Do both rings have to match? To help you think of a few idea's we thought we would share with you some of our favorite wedding bands.

First there are the matching sets.  A classic and beautiful idea, if the two of you can decide on something you both will want to wear!

Some people like to take the more free and fun route. They prefer to create rings that says something about them selves, but with a unifying idea or material between the two rings.

But no matter what you decide to do, we know you will create some rings you love!

Goldielocks Rule of Wood: Too soft, too hard, just right!

ROSEWOOD, Salvaged from Xylophone Keys!

The most common question we hear is:
"What type of woods can we use to make our rings?" 

We have used a ton of different types of woods and we have many types ready to go in our shop. There are a few rules when choosing woods for your ring, think Goldielocks... 

A type of wood must be hard enough to be durable but not too hard that it splits when we wrap it. The good news about too hard and too soft is that most of the time these woods can be incorporated as inlays or liners. So if you have a particular wood in mind on the TOO HARD or TOO SOFT list, let us know we can find another way to use it. 

We've compiled three lists of woods that are too soft, too hard and just right for the main component of a wood ring.  

Wood types that are JUST RIGHT: 

Alianthus
Alder
Ash
Bamboo
birch
Bog Wood
Cedar
Cherry
Ebony
Gingko
Hackberry
Hickory
Juniper
Kauri
Koa - Golden
Koa - Brown
Lace Wood
Mahogony
Maple
Maple - Birdseye
Oak
Oak - White
Padauk
Pear Wood
Purple Heart Wood
Redwood
Rosewood

Teak
Walnut
Wenge
Zebra Wood

Wood types that are TOO SOFT: 

Willow

Wood types that are TOO HARD:

Ironwood
Olive

If you don't see a particular type of wood, email us! We are always excited to work with new woods and we often use woods provided by customers. Check out the photos at the bottom of this page! 

Contact Information:
Allison Taylor - Customer Liaison
312 590 6070
craftsman@simplywoodrings.com
simplywoodrings.com

Kauri with a Birch Liner

Rosewood with
Bog Wood Inlays

Mahogany

Padauk with a
Dark Rosewood Liner

Kauri with a Bog Wood Liner

Zebra Wood with
a Walnut Inlay

Manzanita Wood

Top Ten Reasons Why Simply Wood Rings is Simply the Best

1. We are committed to using recycled and salvaged woods to avoid forestation! We collect wood from all types of sources. Either the wood is destined for landfills or has been processed by an equally conscientious company! We've gotten old xylophone keys, marimbas and fret boards, scraps from other wood workers and cabinetry makers and even wood from an awesome company, Horigan Lumber, who saves trees from being turned into mulch and makes them usable lumber! 

2. We are a small company that prides itself on craftsmanship and honest business practices.Our rings are made to order especially for you! It takes around 6-8 weeks to create a ring and we put the most love and care into crafting your special object. 

3. We make incredibly beautiful and strong wooden rings! The founder of SWR, Gustav, developed a technique for creating the rings that mimics the traditional wood working technique of lamination. Thin strips of wood are wrapped into a ring form so each ring has an average of 12 layers of wood with grain that runs along the ring rather than across it. Needless to say, breakage has only occurred by a dog chomping on the ring or a car running it over! 

4. We offer FREE refinishing! (+ the cost of shipping) We whip your ring back to shape if it begins to show ware. We only ask that you pay for shipping. For more information visit our refinishing page! 

5. We work with you to create designs that reflect your unique personality! We incorporate heirloom rings and stones, customer provided woods, all types of stones, flowers, meteorite, dino bone and even a dreadlock! 


6. You can visit our shop and pick out your own wood! Our shop is located in Chicago in a large warehouse in the Pilsen neighborhood. Stop by and see the rings in person and see where all the magic happens! 

7. Wood has an incredible energy! A tree is like a time capsule, it records it's own life events within each layer. When you wear a wood ring, its almost as if it tells its life story.

8. Stand out of the crowd with a non-traditional alternative! Have a metal allergy or like to avoid convention? A wooden ring rejects all the conventional constructs of the wedding industry. Be a salmon! Swim against the current!

9. They're inexpensive! Compared to the status quo of spending up to three times your monthly income on an engagement ring, spend less and go on an awesome honeymoon! Or build a house! Or start a family! Your wallet (and honey) will thank you! 

10. We guarantee you WILL be best friends with Allison our customer liaison! There's no doubt about it Allison is top notch! She'll go out of her way to take care of you! (One customer even exclaimed "I love you Allison! But don't tell my fiancé!").