The seed for Bahrkart originally came at the inception of Dietzwood in 2020

I had always wanted to build a bar cabinet; I liked how pieces like these honour a certain ceremonial aspect to pouring a drink. Similar to what I do, there is craft behind liquor like wines, whiskeys, gins, rums etc. There's an obsession behind producing something like a deep amber whiskey with vanilla mint and molasses aromas. That speaks to me. It’s a painstaking craft and obsession, that the ceremony around a barcart, pouring a drink and having an exquisite bottle pays homage to.

The original bar cabinet I had designed out of oak got all the way to having materials ordered but never got put into production. It wasn’t right. It needed to mature and develop. The premise stuck with me however and would be something I’d revisit over the years.

Eventually the basis of the design would morph, I wasn’t inspired enough by the cabinet. However, there was something that had stuck with me from the research I had done around bar cabinets. It was a bar cart, but it had these larger timber wheels. Think of a timber tray floated by these wheels and metal frame, I later learned it was called Chariot and if you were to see it, it’s rather fitting.

The wheels set the foundations for what would become Dietzwood Bahrkart.

The intention that followed was more sculptural than functional. My background in marine cabinetmaking gives me habit of always trying to develop things that work this way, conceals that, opens here as is the nature of cabinetry. The expertise helps but here was holding me back and I think left me uninspired by the original cabinet. I knew I needed to do better and that it would take developing my own ability to design and put that at the forefront of this pieces rather than my making.

Working through Bahrkart’s design, the wheels needed substance and a scale of the body to suit. Flying in the face of traditional barcarts or bar trolleys this is unapologetically bold in its scale and mass. Made evident through utilising exposed laminations at each end showing the thick American black cherry timber. Sculpture was driving the progress, but I had to scratch that itch I mentioned before. It had to function. The addition of the end overhang allowed for the cart to be held and manuevered, turning the recessed timber wheels. This also gives recognition to the substantial thickness of each layer.

Through the journey of designing, developing and crafting this it dawned on me that much like the original intention of paying homage to the craft of producing liquor bahrkart has gone through a similar process over four years. It took the patience of waiting, developing and perfecting to get to what you see in front of you. What is it they say, good things take time?