The Texas Hill Country. People from around the globe travel to see this beautiful southern region. A place where gently rolling peaks kiss the sunset and sprawling live oaks tangle across the landscape. For Jenni Urbanczyk, those live oaks are more than just another tree. Along with the cedar, cypress, mesquite, and pecan, they form the heartbeat of her local business, Urban Tree Company.
“People come to Texas to be part of the Hill Country, and these trees are a big part of our history,” Urbanczyk says. “Some of them have been with us one hundred, even two hundred years.”
Urbanczyk and her husband Scott Anderson started their tree service business in San Antonio seven years ago, but their history with trees is almost two decades old. Nearly 20 years ago, Anderson was working with Green Peace in Moab, Utah, on a mission to save trees in the desert there. He began trimming trees and realized how much waste tree removal creates. Determined to find ways to repurpose the wood, he got his arborist license and started a sawmill. His wife joined him, and they opened up a retail shop.
The couple eventually moved their growing family to Boerne, where Urbanczyk grew up, and picked up right where they’d left off in Utah. “Nobody wants to see these trees taken down. But if the tree can no longer live, if it isn’t viable, we’ll remove it, mill it, dry it, and make stuff out of it,” Urbanczyk says. “We’re so much more than just a tree service company. We do custom orders. We have a pile of massive logs we repurpose into handmade home goods, big statement pieces, dining tables, console tables, headboards, cabinets.”
Urban Tree Company occupies a 10-acre space off Blanco Road outside of Bulverde. The facility includes three kilns, a sawmill, and a woodshop, where Urbanczyk and her small team of woodworkers create all the custom pieces. Everything is locally sourced, and prospective customers are invited to visit the property and check out the inventory in person.
Urbanczyk and her team prioritize being hands-on with each client, working through the process alongside them for all custom pieces. “We have five acres of potential,” she said. “Piles of wood inventory. [The customer] can come out, choose their own wood, and we work on the designs together.”
The company has big plans, including integrating its business with local custom home builders and interior designers. “We want to add a personal flair to your new home. If you want something that’s unique, come to us for mantels, tables, sliding barn doors,” said Urbanczyk. “The cool thing about wood is just one piece changes the whole feel of the home. It makes it cozy.”
For Urbanczyk, it’s the love of woodworking that inspires what she does. She picks the pecan tree as her favorite to work with, thanks to its variations in coloration and gradation, plus the ease with which it takes shape. “Pecans grow beautifully. With aging, they get a lot of grain and spalting in them, and it’s just kind of a little art surprise when you open them up. Nature’s little art tree. It’s pure Texas. You can’t get more Texas than a pecan tree.”
That Lone Star pride remains at the heart of their work at Urban Tree Company. “We just want folks to know we’re pure Texas. If you use our woods, you’re getting a piece of Texas history. And it’s all made in our shop by Texas hands. Texas, Texas, Texas. You see my angle.” Urbanczyk laughs.
You can find the Urban Tree Company every third Sunday at The Pearl Farmer’s Market or online at urbantreecompany.shop.
Some of these trees have been with us one hundred, even two hundred years.
You can’t get more Texas than a pecan tree.
