Bentsticks  ABN: 73769773258

So who is Bentsticks?
My name is Gary Moore and I am Bentsticks.

Where did Bentsticks come from?
As most of my wood stock is fallen
Eucalyptus Gumtree branches, I am always out picking up "bentsticks".


Ever since my Dad taught me to carve I have “played” with wood.
Everything from chess sets and Maori figurines to traditional rustic furniture.
 
For the last 30 years I have worked behind the scenes in the Television Industry. 
Between filming assignments, I began making little  wooden things such as Wee Willy Winkie candlestick holders as a hobby and giving them to friends & family.  When I ran out of people to give them to,
I tentatively set up my little table at the local market. The positive reaction to my handcrafts gave me confidence to continue and to try new designs and products.

Since then I have created my own style using the natural shapes and textures of locally gathered fallen tree branches.  My preference is to retain the natural qualities of the branch as much as possible so I would rather wait for the right piece to be "discovered" rather than force it to be something it's not.
Once a suitable piece has been discovered, it is a simple process to release the sculpture from within.
Other times the shape of the branch dictates what I should help it to become.
It is rewarding to see others also appreciate the natural organic shapes of the toys.   

I regularly attend several handmade markets in Melbourne each month as well as some seasonal markets.
I also attend as many of the Steiner School Open days as I can. 

And because you are reading this on my website you will know that I also sell online.
I regularly post interstate and also to New Zealand, England and America.

Leonie at Wild Earth in Torquay, Victoria has begun stocking some of my products.
Wild Earth is situated at 29C The Esplanade, Torquay.  (cnr Anderson St).

I continue to create my unique wooden storybook toys to inspire the child in all of us to imagine... to dream....

My hobby has become my passion.

Gary Moore. 
January 2010.

Media &Press Clippings

Sept. 9 2009
Altona man in a world of his own.

Melbourne Mothers Matter Magazine
February /March 2009
Part of Steiner Schooling Feature









Australian Parents Magazine December/January 2009
Reporters Christmas Gift Guide pg 44







Herald Sun (Victoria)
Sat. Dec 8th 2008
Full page in Home magazine lift-out.








 

The Fairy Grotto.

In January 2009 Wendy Clarke asked me to create a Fairy Grotto in the Children's Tunnel of her Imagine Garden Exhibition at the 2009 Melbourne International Flower & Garden Show at Carlton Gardens.  Follow the journey from construction to the show days and finally the "Awards".

Birth of a show garden: Imagine by

The story unfolds as a magnificent Australian garden begins its creation and journey to the biggest flower and garden show in the southern hemisphere -
                                The Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show 2009.
 

Follow the progress of the construction of the Imagine Garden.
http://www.dirtscape-imagine.blogspot.com/

The Fairy Grotto begins.
Below are some pics of the early stages of the project.

                                        

Above are some of the Fairy "Landing Pads" on the houses.

Sunday 29th March 2009
Last night I sneaked into the workshop.
I saw all these colorful gnomes working away
to get things ready for the Flower Show.
When no one was looking I took this photo.
It still looks like there's heaps to do.
I hope they get it finished before next week.

The Fairy Grotto progress.....

Somewhere deep in the forest of
the Imagine Garden is a clearing.
It is a very special  clearing.
It looks a bit empty at the moment but
I wonder what will appear there before
the Flower & Garden show opens.

Monday 30th March 2009
This morning I went into the workshop where I had
seen the Gnomes working on the Fairy Grotto
for the Flower Show but... there was nothing there.

I looked under the trees
 where I had first seen
the little houses but
there was nothing there either.


Then from inside I heard the sound of lots of voices.
A long line of Gnomes began to sing as they marched
across the table top towards the little door in the corner
of the shed. They disappeared outside but I could still
hear the sound of their  singing until it faded into the distance.

 
Later I heard that 3 Fairies from the Carlton area had been flying over the gardens near the fountain and had seen some new buildings growing out of the trees near the Imagine Garden.  They couldn't see much except a couple of red pointed rooftops but they could hear lots of voices singing.  I guess the Gnomes had arrived at Carlton Gardens. When the Fairies tried to land to find out what was going on,
they saw that the "Fairy Landing Pads" were not quite finished yet.
The Gnomes and Elves were all working furiously to get the grotto finished in time for us all to enjoy.  I can't wait to see it. 

 

Tuesday 31st March 2009

After the local Fairies mentioned the red roofs sticking out through the trees at out the Carlton Gardens,
 I thought I would investigate.  Not far from the Fountain, I found the Imagine Garden. Wow what a garden!

I think the people of Melbourne and the world  will love to see what can be done with the Australian native plants.  But I was here for a purpose - to find the Fairy Grotto.

But where was it?  It's such a huge area for little the Gnomes and Elves. 
I closed my eyes and listened to the wind...
Then I heard it! The same song the Gnomes sang as they left the shed.

I hurried towards the singing sounds. It was getting louder so I knew I was getting closer.
Then I saw the red roofs sticking up out of the trees. It was nearly there.
Suddenly the trees seemed to open up and in the clearing was a fantastic little village.


There were brightly coloured Gnomes and Elves everywhere. Some were playing by the Magic Circle of Mushrooms, others were having a picnic by the pond  and some were walking over the bridge. They were standing on the  balconies of the little houses chatting near where the Fairies had just "touched down" on their treetop Landing Pads.  One house was shaped like a shoe and a house that looked like face with a door in it's mouth. There was a Windmill and another really tall building with a Lookout on top.

                      It was just like a real village for these special little people.

            I wish I could live there.

After all the hard work,  Wendy Clarke's IMAGINE Garden  won two Awards.
*GOLD  -  OUTDOOR EXHIBIT MIFGS 2009
*The Horticultural Media Association Award for               BEST USE OF PLANT LIFE.