Antler-centric design

By Liz Barry

Published: November 3, 2008

When David Kilmartin moved from Montana to Lynchburg four years ago, he loaded his Silverado truck and 24-foot cargo trailer chock full of antlers and hit the road.

Three trips and 18,000 miles later, Kilmartin’s garage in Lynchburg was stacked with 2,200 pounds of deer, elk and moose antlers.

What’s a man to do with 2,200 pounds of antlers?

Kilmartin, 68, uses them to craft furniture and home décor — a passion he developed after retiring after three decades as a bricklayer and stonemason. He sells his “Antler Connections” at the Sportsman’s Warehouse in Roanoke and at trade shows across the country.

Each design, whether a lamp, table or candelabra, is inspired by the idiosyncratic shapes of antlers.  Elk antlers crisscross to form the base of a glass coffee table; deer antlers are intertwined to create a three-tier chandelier.

“Making something out of antlers is like a puzzle,” he says.

For Kilmartin, antler art is a way to relax. “It’s refreshing for me to come out and start building something.”

Kilmartin — an avid hunter and fisher — battles misconceptions about the antlers. Some people assume that antlers come from dead animals. In actuality, deer, moose and elk shed their antlers every year, and grow a new pair. The discarded antlers, known as “sheds,” are a hot commodity in the forest.

“Animals love ’em ... Skunks, squirrels, mice, they will chew them up to nothing.”

Kilmartin buys most of his antlers from antler dealers in Montana and Oregon, who send people into the woods to scour the land for the sheds. He also makes custom pieces for people, who supply their own antlers.

He plans to make antler creations for about two more years. Arthritis makes it more difficult these days, and antler is a very hard material.

“It is like steel. It just eats up the drill bits like crazy.”

A native of Bald Eagle, Pa., Kilmartin grew up outdoors. His mother taught him how to fish, and his next-door neighbor taught him how to hunt.

Like most hunters, Kilmartin has accumulated a stock of hunting stories, memories from years in the woods, like the time he killed two rabbits with one bullet.

“Nobody believes me,” he says with a smile.

His love for the outdoors is evident throughout his home. His living room is furnished almost entirely with his antler creations. His cars bear the license plates Antler1, Antler2 and Antler3. His pug is named Moose.

Kilmartin went hunting in Bedford County on Saturday, the first day of deer hunting season for muzzle-loaders. His wife Patricia went along for company.

“I don’t believe in shooting for the antlers. We like to eat the meat,” Kilmartin says of his ethos to respect the animals and let little go to waste.

Kilmartin shares a love of nature with his wife. It has been central to their lives.

“We postponed our wedding date because it was the first day of hunting season,” she says.

For more information
Antler Connections, call David Kilmartin at (434) 426-9727 or e-mail .