Hey there. I’m Vince Black, the artist behind BLACKCONE. I began turning wood in 2020 during the pandemic and fell in love with the creativity and artistry involved in the process. Taking pieces of wood that have been discarded and turning them into a thing of beauty has become my joy.

After several months of studying the art form and giving away nearly everything I turned, I sat down with my wife to discuss the future of the work done in my little shed. We talked about appropriate names for what I was making. We remembered reading a plaque in Sequoia National Park about the optimum conditions for a sequoia pinecone to release its seeds to continue to populate the forest. What we learned was that the stress of fire often causes pine cones to release their seeds, offering life in the midst of devastation and destruction. These burned, black, pinecones often produce beautiful life. We put together our last name (Black) and the analogous story of these pine cones, giving meaning to the story God is writing for our family.

BLACKCONE tells a story of hope. After losing our oldest son to leukemia in 2022, I’m fighting to understand that beauty can indeed come from what only feels like death and loss. The story of BLACKCONE is the story of this life; beauty that comes from the dead and discarded.

Much of the wood BLACKCONE uses has been collected from the devastating wild fires in Colorado or from trees that have been destroyed by beetle kill. Every piece of wood we use tells a story of the trials the wood has endured. You will see burn marks, beetle tracks, or some other unique pattern in every piece we turn, making every item one-of-a-kind.

When I’m not turning wood, I love spending time with my family. Together, we love drinking great coffee, eating good food, soccer, travel, and sitting by a warm fire at our home in Fort Collins.

Thanks for visiting BLACKCONE, where things that were once discarded are turned into a thing of beauty.