Burls aren't great for building things because they are difficult to work with and don't have a great structural stability, but my goodness they are a spectacle to behold.
If you are interested here is the wiki definition of a burl.
"Burl is a tree growth in which the grain has grown in a deformed manner. It is commonly found in the form of a rounded outgrowth on a tree trunk or branch that is filled with small knots from dormant buds."
several years ago we (Carved) attempted to use a burl to create something useful that would be eye catching. We posted a phone case made of Tasmanian Eucalyptus Burl and resin to fill in the gaps.
Our Instagram account exploded with positive feedback. We didn't know it then but wood burls and resin would become a material that would shift the direction of Carved.
We completely fell in love with the unique look of burls mixed with resin. Each new unit was 1 of one. No two were alike and we liked that.
We've spent a lot of time working with burls since then; cleaning them, harvesting them, figuring out how to make them stronger, even filming them :) Here's a fun video for example.
All that to say...ah frick, not sure what the moral of the story is here. Oh oh here's one. Take risks. Try new things. Innovate. Before we introduced wood burls and resin to our line-up our products were pretty ordinary. We were a company destined to be forgotten.
Though it took an enormous amount of work, we are proud to stand out and offer something to the world that we feel is a reflection of who we are as a company and who you are as a person, unique :)