
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.
Gary Moore spent 30 years
watching the make-believe world of television drama unfold as a
professional cameraman. But now he is letting his own
imagination run wild with a handy craft that has captured the
attention
of children and adults. Mr. Moore, of Altona, spends any
spare time handcrafting wooden toys in his shed, producing fairy
houses, pixies and aeroplanes.
He
sources only recycled material, predominantly fallen branches.
“I’m about the only person who thinks storms are a good thing,
when the branches fall down.” The venture remains part-time for
now, but Mr. Moore, said he wanted to see the business
expand. “I can’t keep up with the
orders at certain times. The big market season is before
Christmas, which I’ve been working towards for three
months,” he said. Mr. Moore has a website and also sells
his toys at local markets.
Picture: David Smith
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.