Shop Bunny

Shop Bunny, originally uploaded by A. Drauglis Furnituremaker.

Derby the Bunny, my shop assistant, passed last week. He was always a fun guy to have around, put up with a lot of odd noises and strange smells, and helped make life more interesting.

He nearly chewed through a rope I was using to lower a piece out the window; wandered in and out of photo-shoots at will; and was always a welcome distraction.

All of our house rabbits have been free-range; if we don’t want them in a room, then we would close the door. Other than that they had the run of the house. Derby was rarely shy about wandering through an often-closed door and would make a habit of coming into the shop. Usually a Derby visit would entail a taste of whatever shaving were on the floor, followed by a lap or two around the workbench; sort of like an inspection from the boss.

While he would nibble on my furniture now and then, he never made a habit of it (the furniture we have around the house is a different story). When he did chew on things, it was always easily fixed or, in the case of a few live edge pieces, became part of the character of the work.
He will be missed.