Helves and Hallmarks of Collaboration
The Helves and Hallmarks of Collaboration project is a celebration of the individual contributions that make collective creativity so marvelous. “Big Leadership” wants you to believe that a sole leading genius is the mastermind of every outstanding collaboration and that the individual contributions are far less valuable than the grand total of the leader’s creative vision. Nonsense. Anyone who has served in the trenches of collaboration knows that the generative feedback loops between individuals amplify collective creativity to a level not possible by a single person, regardless of creative genius, emotional intelligence, and privileged funding access.
In a world of premium market goods, arts, and crafts, hallmarks traditionally indicate the maker and quality of the product. In fact, the maker and perceived quality conceptually merge into “one” to become the “brand” over time. Hallmarks also designate the place and date of production as well as any other background information that is deemed important by the creator, consumer marketer, or governing agency. A hallmark can also be defined as a distinctive characteristic of a person or associated group of people. The Helves and Hallmarks of Collaboration project leans into this notion by highlighting the specific characteristics, background, and contribution of individuals in order to publicly appreciate their unique role within the larger creative cooperation.
With all this said, each sign of the Helves and Hallmarks of Collaboration series strives to evoke the individual spirit of a singular person who is essential to David Buckley Borden’s interdisciplinary work as a Fuller Design Fellow with the Fuller Initiative for Productive Landscapes and the HJ Andrews Experimental Forest from spring 2021 to fall 2024. This project is the last chapter in DBB’s Fuller Design Fellowship at the University of Oregon. In many ways the exhibition of the work serves as a public letter of gratitude and appreciation by David and company.
Given the context of David’s collaborations with his studio assistants, the Fuller Initiative for Productive Landscapes at the University of Oregon, and the Oregon State University’s College of Forestry, the vintage branding and advertisement of axes, saws, and other related forestry tools provided an apt contextual aesthetic for the project. Many of the project’s graphics were inspired, remixed, and yes, blatantly derived (ripped off!) from classic axe brands such as the Keen Kutter, Storm King, and Vulcan, to name a few. The period-inspired graphics of turn-of-the-century axe brands romantically recalls a time past when lasting quality and a job well done was essential to nearly everyone’s vocational aspirations, be it an individual craftsperson or collective profession.
The Helves and Hallmarks project will be on exhibition at the University of Oregon in Lawrence Hall from January 5 to February 25, 2025, and at the Oregon State University’s College of Forestry in Richardson Hall in the spring of 2025.
Castor Axe (for Nancy Silvers), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, assorted hardware, and beeswax, 12 × 18 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
HJ Andrews (for HJA LTER community), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 19 × 25 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, Ashley Ferguson, and Michael Nelson.
Storm King (for Dr. Mark Schultz), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 19 × 32 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
Tree Poisoning Axe (for Ashley Ferguson), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, assorted hardware, and beeswax, 18 × 24 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, Ashley Ferguson, and Blake Schouten.
Vulcan Made Axe (for Fred Swanson), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, assorted hardware, and beeswax, 19 × 32 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
Quilt Brand Work Gloves & Mitts (for Sabine Winkler), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 19 × 30 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
Crescent Axe (for Dr. Brooke Penaluna), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, assorted hardware, and beeswax, 19 × 19 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
Dynamicut (for Adam DeSorbo and Rex), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 19 × 19 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
Royale Wolf Pack (for Dr. Michael Nelson), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 19 × 19 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
The Technol Edge (for Dr. Chris Still), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 19 × 19 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
Knot Chomper (for Jeff Billington), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 19 × 19 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, Ashley Ferguson and Josephine Paik.
Atlantic Axe (for Dr. Matt Betts), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 19 × 30 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
Gothique Axe (for Cousin Lizzy, (13th cuz, 6 times removed)), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 19 × 24 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, Ashley Ferguson, and Blake Schouten.
Boss of the Woods (for Dr. Tom DeLuca), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 12 × 19 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
Forest Buck Stop (for the Borden Boys, past and present), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, assorted hardware, and beeswax, 19 × 30 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, and Ashley Ferguson.
Cutt’n Edge (for the Center for the Future of Forests and Society), ¾” AC plywood, milled pine, lasers, 3M blue tape, black ink, two-in-one primer, acrylic paint, and assorted hardware, 30 × 36 inches, 2024. Collaborators: David Buckley Borden, Adam DeSorbo, Ashley Ferguson, and Michael Nelson.
This collaborative work was funded by the Fuller Initiative for Productive Landscapes at the University of Oregon, the Oregon State University Foundation’s Andrews Fund, the Center for the Future of Forests and Society at OSU’s College of Forestry, and the sale of artwork on this website.
About the Fuller Initiative for Productive Landscapes
The Fuller Initiative for Productive Landscapes (FIPL) at the University of Oregon is an internationally recognized center for research-based design and design as research, focused on the role of place in cultural sustainability, and grounded in the arts and humanities. Guided by a team of scholars, students use applied art and design methods to investigate the stewardship of landscapes and culture.
About the Center for the Future of Forests and Society
The Center for the Future of Forests and Society (CFFS) in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University funds research and conducts science outreach related to the solution space for climate change. CFFS prioritizes efforts that bring together an inclusive array of minds, strategies and knowledge to collaboratively address complex issues we cannot solve in isolation.
About The HJ Andrews Experimental Forest
The HJ Andrews Experimental Forest is a world renowned center for research and education about the ecology and management of forests and streams. Located about 50 miles (80 km) east of Eugene, Oregon, the Andrews Experimental Forest lies in the Blue River Ranger District of the Willamette National Forest. Established in 1948, the Experimental Forest is administered cooperatively by the USDA Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station, Oregon State University, and the Willamette National Forest.
Funding for the research and education programs comes from the National Science Foundation (NSF), USDA Forest Service, NASA, Oregon State University, U.S. Geological Survey, and other sources. In 1976, the Experimental Forest was designated a Biosphere Reserve as part of the United Nations’ Man and the Biosphere Program, and in 1980, the Experimental Forest became a charter member of the NSF’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program, which by 2003 had grown to twenty-two sites around the nation and two in Antarctica.
Photography by Adam DeSorbo.