Dead trees get a brand-new life

CANYON LAKE, Texas (KXAN) - The drought has done a number on Central Texas trees. Hundreds have died from the stress, with many ending up in landfills.

Sam Faix is picking up the pieces, literally, and creating something beautiful. His company in Canyon Lake, Nature Reborn , takes the dead trees from a tree trimming company out of Seguin and cuts, sands and varnishes the pieces into art and furniture.

"It's a shame,” said Faix. “It really it is, to see a 300-year-old ‘Old Man’ tree just be discarded. And it's not really until you get into it and see how beautiful it can be, that you recognize the kind of waste that goes on."

Faix got the idea five years ago and started with just a chainsaw. But it was after his brother-in-law, a military veteran, died from cancer two years ago and left five children behind, that he picked up the pace.

"It was facing that crisis that just really pushed me to really do all of this and just pour my heart and soul into it," said Faix.

View photos of Faix's work.

Now several retail stores, including Buc-ee’s , sell his work.

The next step is to build a bigger computer numeric control (CNC) router machine.

“I am wanting to build a much larger one, one that I can just load the large pieces with a forklift right into the machine and then have it cut patterns, joints just everything,” said Faix.

Faix is trying to fund the invention on the website Kickstarter.com and hopefully hire more local craftsmen as business grows.

"It's really taking a life of its own,” said Faix. “It's exciting. It's great."