Maple Hollow Studio on the Inroads Tour

Sep 03, 2014

As 18-year veterans of the annual Labour Day Inroads Studio Tour, artisans Nick and Annette Hally are living the artisan’s dream.

The tour invites guests into the homes and studios of 10 local area artisans, where visitors can get a glimpse of how these makers of fine art and craft objects live and work.

Entering the Maple Hollow Studio is like coming upon a magical place where elves abide. Paving stones inlaid with Chinese writing denoting words like family, integrity, love and charity greet the visitors as they cross a small wooden bridge over a small creek and fountain before entering the glass-fronted store, which is surrounded by flowers and trees and covered in hanging vines.

Nick and Annette built their home/studio and store front decades ago and as one enters their property it is easy to see how both have found solace here and take pride in the fact that they have been able to make a living doing exactly what they love to do. Nick Hally is a master woodworker and just six months after learning the ropes of woodworking while studying at Specialty Woodcrafts in Kingston Hally knew he wanted to make gift ware. A maker of high end jewelry boxes and most recently clocks, 80% of Hally's business is in wholesale. He sells thousands of items, mainly maple leaf and trillium marquetry objects to stores, galleries, gift shops and as corporate gifts across the country.

His jewelry boxes are marvels of craftsmanship, each made with hand joinery and with the surfaces decorated with intricate marquetry designs that are inspired by nature. Leaves, dragonflies, butterflies and hummingbirds are often the central motifs.

Nick points out that marquetry is not to be confused with inlay. Marquetry involves placing and then cutting thin sheets of veneer one on top of the other with a fine scroll saw. The box and clock bodies are often made from solid walnut, maple and cherry woods but he uses different exotic wood veneers which give him the colors and textures that make the graphic element of his work so unique, colorful and appealing. It makes sense that Hally focuses on the decorative surfaces of his objects since he has always been attracted to graphic design.

Currently Hally has been focusing on making a series of kinetic clocks. Created from MDF, Hally uses a CNC (computer numerically controlled) router to cut the intricate gears, which are turned by a small electronic motor. The individual gears are then dipped in a two-part urethane solution that gives them a hard plastic finish. Light has become a big part of these clock designs and Nick uses cold cathode fluorescent lights to light certain parts of the clock, often the clock face from behind. He loves the endless new possibilities that the clock designs offer and said he hopes to create a number of larger clocks for a solo gallery show one day, when he eventually slows down a bit.

Annette Hally has been making jewelry for 15 years. She creates a wide range of earrings, bracelets and necklaces using copper, silver and gold wire that she embellishes with semi precious stones, fresh water pearls and Swarovski crystals. Her designs are light, airy and colorful, very feminine and soft, and seem the perfect balance to Nick’s more earthy toned and angular pieces.

The two seem like two happy elves in their workshop and while they await visitors each tinkers at their separate work tables, Nick working on a hummingbird design, and Annette on a necklace until four more new guests appear on their front step.

Not everyone who starts out on a craft/arts path manages to stay the course but Nick and Annette Hally have done just that. They obviously have not just the talent and skills but also the willingness to take on all the other business and marketing aspects of the job, which make for a successful lifetime career in the arts.

Maple Hollow Studio is located at 50 Maple Grove Lane near Tichborne and is open from May 15 until November 1. For more information call 613-375-8186 or visit them online at maplehollowstudio.com