Take a seat and support local. The story of Edmund, the artisan craftsmen

The real story of how creating a sustainable business is all about building relationships

For Darling Brew their commitment to sustainability and supporting local businesses goes beyond words and into action when you consider that the majority of their produce comes from Darling and surrounds and their workforce is almost entirely comprised of Darling locals. However, the most fascinating story of supporting local is ever-present throughout their tasteroom, their furniture.

It all started with an idea to take all of the wood that housed the machinery for the brewery and turn it into the tables and chairs that would form the core of the Tasteroom. Taking it further the wood has now even been used for the jungle gym outside.

However, the true hero of this story is one man and he goes by the name of Edmund Tango. Edmund is a local artisan who according to Kevin Wood, Darling Brew founder, is the go-to guy when you want something crafted from virtually any material and turned into a work of functional art. For many people Edmund is an inspiration.

Edmund lives and works less than one kilometre from the brewery and works closely with Kevin on each new project taking hand drawn sketches and turning them into furniture which is not only functional but also fantastic to look at and adds an extra dimension to the tasteroom.

Taking a trip to Edmund’s workshop is an amazing experience. Every little piece of equipment he has crafted himself, using his imagination and rock solid hands to go above and beyond what is envisioned.

Speaking to Edmund one truly understands the passion that has gone into the creation of the brewery furniture. A Darling local who was born and raised on a farm in the hills above the town, Edmund has been crafting things for 32 years and makes everything from tables to chairs to security gates. However, he says with a smile that his favourite project is making wire cars for children’s school projects.

For Kevin the process was a logical one. While most people would throw away their wooden pallets or sell it for firewood Kevin saw an opportunity in the fact that most of the wood is of an extremely high quality making it ideal for this type of use. Each pallet is brought to Edmund’s workshop where it is chopped up before being turned into functional art and while Kevin’s sketches provide a starting point, it is Edmund’s imagination and his incredible skill that make the final product so magnificent.