Projects: Sustainable, stunning designs with ENTROPY RESINS
It’s not hard to notice how enamoured Wessex Resins and Adhesives is with ROOSO DESIGNS, so much so we’ve used lots of their images in our recent advertising. You might have seen ROOSO’s work with the ENTROPY RESINS® range to make incredible furniture and art pieces for homes and businesses, like making river tables with epoxy.
The company is based ten minutes outside of Sidmouth in Devon, an inspirational area for these unique designs being created by husband and wife team Reuben and Solo Marsh.
While Solo’s role is booking events, marketing and the administrative side of the business, coupled with the occasional burst of sanding, Reuben takes care of the making.
A joiner by trade, Reuben learned his skills with an apprenticeship and then worked with his father-in-law. He says he started the design company as a bit of a hobby for evenings and weekends but in four short years he’s been on an incredible journey of hobby, to part-time passion, to full-time business. Now he’s the main creative drive behind ROOSO DESIGNS and making river tables with epoxy.
“The first thing I made was to fill in a piece of wood with splits in it,” Rueben explains. “I used glow in the dark resin to show up any cracks. That was the start. I then made a table with filled-in bits and saw a Canadian company that was making river tables. In my free time I started playing with resin and wood and learning the process, finding out what doesn’t work and what does. I had the idea to make wall lights as resin looks great with light behind it. In the daytime the lights are an art piece and in the evening a mood-setting light.”
They look fantastic.
“We use a lot of English Burr Oak because of the grain pattern in the wood. It’s like a cluster of birds’ eyes. You’ll also notice a lot of Yew. That’s a warm, orange colour with a white edge to give a contrast. It looks like a beach and is perfect for creating a river / shoreline effect in the pieces. We source locally where possible and always sustainably. We look for trees that have died of natural causes or fallen down. Everything is ethically sourced.”
It’s this attention to detail and sustainable qualities which make his work so sought after. Clients tend to look for bigger pieces for the home, like dining tables and desks for new builds. Reuben also makes smaller pieces of art, like wall lights and serving platters and is now branching out into resin kitchen cupboards and even a staircase for a new build, with all underlit resin treads.
Nowadays Reuben only uses ENTROPY RESINS because of their bio-based formulae.
But the dedication to the range took it’s time.
“When I started using ENTROPY RESINS I was buying it from the previous distributor,” he explains. “It was impossible to get accurate measurements and didn’t work as well as I had hoped. Then I found Wessex Resins and Adhesives. They started manufacturing ENTROPY RESINS under licence in Hampshire last year. Their manufacturing processes mean exact measurements and much better-quality results. Brilliant.
“The difference between clear casting products is that ENTROPY RESINS are designed for professionals – it’s much thinner than other craft alternatives. When it’s mixed, it de-gasses much more easily. We use a degassing chamber to suck out the bubbles before we pour on a thicker layer.
“We’ve been using a variety of mica powders, pearl effect resins and acrylic or alcohol based inks but we’re really looking forward to the ENTROPY RESINS range of new colour tints, the translucent dyes.”
Some may love the set-up of the business – Solo and Reuben’s home is next door to the workshop – others may find the idea of that short a commute abhorrent. But surely all agree the outcomes are true works of art with the manner in which he’s making river tables with epoxy.
(Degassing chambers are designed to remove air from the mixed epoxy and lower the boiling point before a pour. When epoxy is mixed, air will always be introduced. A vacuum chamber enables bubbles to come up to the top to pop before use. This is not a necessity but decreases the time between pours.)
