Rudi Stade is rockin’ life

Every week, I will be profiling an extraordinary human being who lives in our community. If you know someone who is doing something interesting with their life, I want to hear about it. Send me an email at [email protected].

It happened one day when he was walking in the forest.

Rudi Stade couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There, on the ground, were some of the most glorious flat rocks he had ever seen. He thought about what he might be able to do with them. The possibilities seemed endless. He was granted permission to remove some of the rocks from the property. Once he got them back to his Huntsville home, he invested in a rotary hammer, a special tool that can drill through rock. And then Rudi tapped into his creative side. Honouring the beauty of Muskoka’s oldest hunks of granite – some even two billion years old – Rudi has been making the ultimate antique furniture since he rooted himself here from Toronto 13 years ago.

“I’m definitely a right-brained person and highly creative in different areas. I love everything from art to reading about astrophysics and particle physics and everything in between,” he says, adding that when he perused the internet he was rather surprised to learn no one is doing anything remotely close to what he does.

You’ve seen Rudi around town. He’s the tall, fit-looking guy with shaggy blond hair who rides his bicycle everywhere. Chances are you’ve seen his handiwork, too. In its truly unique form it’s hard to miss.

Rudi made and donated the rock bench that sits in the front courtyard at the Algonquin Theatre. One table he made is shaped like a heart. When Rudi came across it in the forest, it was like finding a special treasure. It weighs a whopping 285 pounds. He also built three triangular stools to go with the heart-shaped table. He donated a beautiful chess table in River Mill Park and was later commissioned by the Town to make two benches as well. This year, Rudi created a memorial bench in honour of the late James Carroll, which sits beautifully outside Hunters Bay Radio’s headquarters. He also built a flagstone patio for Huntsville’s new men’s shelter, which is set to open sometime this fall.

Through his handiwork and a deep desire to want to create, Rudi has found fulfillment giving back to the community. And the reason why is simple.

I want to give back to the community. The people have been so good to me… certain landowners allowing me to roam through the forest and take out their rocks. This is one way for me to give back indirectly so everyone in the town can appreciate them.
Rudi Stade

His work as a rock furniture ‘artist’ has certainly progressed over the years. The donated pieces in town, says Rudi, are a great example of the different stages of his evolution in furniture making. When he was just starting out in his new creative venture, he maintained the rocks in their pristine shape and didn’t do any alterations. He’s come a long way since the days when he would literally haul rocks from the forest by hand, put what he could in his backpack and, not owning a vehicle, bike his treasures back home. (Talk about a serious work out!) And at first, it wasn’t just about finding the perfect rocks. He was also on the hunt for forked tree branches which would make for the perfect base to lay the rocks on top of. He merely honoured everything in its truest form.

Now, in between working part time jobs here and there, Rudi spends most of his time at his workshop – a space he is able to utilize and store all of his rocks, tools and other materials in exchange for doing odd jobs for an extremely kind local man. It is there, in that perfect space, that Rudi is truly able to unleash his creative flare. He’s got heaps of rocks and giant slabs of granite and a handmade makeshift lifting device, which Rudi describes as a hybrid of a medieval/modern crane.

His devotion to this craft is a labour of love…

His unique furniture making has given Rudi a new sense of purpose. This is what he was destined to do. Many years ago, before his big move from Toronto to Muskoka, a psychic told him she saw him working with surrealistic-style furniture. She saw an upside down stump supporting a stone tabletop. At the time, Rudi thought there was no way he would spend his days chipping away at rock. It’s safe to say she was on to something…

While it is truly a labour of love, it’s also a time-consuming hobby. Some of the pieces can take anywhere from five to eight days to create. He’s no longer walking into the forest every other day collecting what he can. He’s getting large slabs of Muskoka granite from a local quarry and is able to hire someone with a pickup truck to help him get the rocks to his workshop. Aside from benches and chairs, Rudi has mastered Muskoka chairs, wineglass holders, personal signs, patios and steps. He’s even turned an old office chair on wheels into a one-of-a-kind rock chair.

He’s working on something pretty awesome right now, although he’s not quite sure if it will be a water basin of some kind or a bird bath. Not a single piece of his furniture will ever be the same. And the benefits of having something handmade from stone doesn’t just mean no one else will have it. It will stand the test of time. All of his pieces are fire, wind and waterproof. No pesky insects will ever be able to destroy one of Rudi’s rock chairs. And they are so damn heavy a thief would definitely think twice about stealing.

What I love about it is the creativity of building something completely new. There’s no limits to what is possible.
Rudi Stade

And this unique style of furniture making certainly coincides with his authentic self. Eccentric, down-to-earth, Rudi is never one to shy away from any kind of conversation. He loves being in the great outdoors, it’s like a giant playground for this 59-year-old who doesn’t look a day over 40. His youthful vibe is a direct result of Rudi’s active lifestyle. He bikes every single day, lifts and hauls heavy rock, and he loves to hike and immerse himself in nature.

Rudi’s got high hopes and big dreams. He hopes to one day make an earnest living from what he does. And even if he doesn’t, he won’t get down on himself. He looks at the glass as half full, never empty. Staying positive is the only way to be, he says. And he’ll keep smiling, keep creating and will be ever-grateful for every little thing he is able to take home from the forest.

“It’s like a gift from the earth… Mother Earth is offering these things and I have a choice to either take it with me or leave it there.”

(Check out more of Rudi’s work by visiting his website at www.rudistade.com or call 705-789-3331).