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European bakers, carpenters, butchers—they all have one thing in common besides being tradespeople: They also boast their own traditional bas relief, a small sculpture that represents each craft, proudly displayed outside their businesses. Wood floor pro Jean-Marc Selvon, owner of Parquet Selvon in Braine-le-Comte, Belgium, noticed while traveling in Europe that his trade was missing from the ancient bas relief tradition. "I said, 'Well, if it does not exist, I will create it,'" Selvon recalls. He first considered sculpting a wood floor pro installing, but then realized that other flooring materials can be installed, and he intended his sculpture to be unique to hardwood. The answer? The big machine. Using a photo of himself sanding as the basis, Selvon used techniques from sculpting lessons taken in school and carved the shape from modeling clay with a kitchen knife. It took three months to refine the sculpture, and, when completed, he baked it in a kiln at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and added an oil finish. Selvon made a silicone mold of the final sculpture so he can produce them in bulk; he plans to begin selling them for other proud wood floor craftsmen to display. "Here in Europe, if you compare the timber flooring industry [with] other trades, we remain the poorest in identity," Selvon says. "But there are many among us who take pride in what we do. I'm one of them."
