The idea
A stele that glows in the garden.
The first Eichenstele was made in 2010 in the workshop of Ulrich Finke, a qualified landscape engineer in Welzheim. It started with a simple question: how do you bring colour and light into a garden, especially in the grey months, without reaching for a lamp?
The answer became a small workshop. Oak from the region, slowly dried, with milled windows. Behind them, through-coloured satin acrylic glass. Wood by day, light by evening.
Today Eichenstelen stand in gardens across Europe, in the USA, in Canada and in Australia. Each one is signed by hand. Ulrich Finke still works in the workshop — and is gradually handing it over to the next generation of the family.
The windows are milled together with Schreinerei Hildenbrand, a few hundred metres down the road. A small connection that has held for years.
The material: solid regional oak
Solid oak from the region — not industrially produced, but worked piece by piece by hand. Small knot inclusions can occur. They are an expression of the natural material; durability is in no way affected.
The oak boards are treated with a UV-protective oil glaze, so the steles are weatherproof year-round. Over time the oak develops a grey patina — anyone who prefers to avoid this can simply re-coat the stele with a water-soluble oil glaze whenever they like.
From oak trunk to signed light stele.
Six stations every stele passes through — in the workshop in Welzheim and a few hundred metres away at Schreinerei Hildenbrand.
Selecting the oak
Trunks from the Swabian Forest, slowly and naturally dried.
Cutting to size
Board by board brought to stele dimensions, with about 3 cm wall thickness.
Milling the windows
Precise CNC milling of the cut-outs — together with Schreinerei Hildenbrand.
Setting the acrylic glass
Through-coloured, satin, shatter-resistant panels into every opening.
Oiling
Natural oil finish, applied in several coats, then left to rest.
Signing
Branded signature by Ulrich Finke, with date and serial number.
The glass
The windows are centred in the wood and seated in a groove — the steles look beautiful from both sides. Only the ground spikes are more clearly visible from the back.
The glass inlays are made from shatter-resistant, through-coloured acrylic glass with a satin finish.
Individual colour combinations are available at no extra cost.
Mounting & what's included
The price includes two 85 cm ground spikes in raw steel (which will rust) or galvanised, plus a fixing set with 6 stainless-steel screws.
The ground spikes do not need to be set in concrete — simply driving them into the ground is enough. Secure even in stormy weather.
Stainless-steel ground spikes available for an extra €40.
Options & accessories
Everything that belongs with it.
Commitment
€5 from every stele. Direct to Special Sailing e.V.
By buying these steles you support a project close to Ulrich Finke's heart. Special Sailing e.V. is a non-profit association that, with volunteer carers and skippers, enables many people with mental and physical disabilities to take part in supervised sailing trips in the Mediterranean.
SpecialSailing.deEvery stele is an original.
Signed, numbered, handcrafted in Welzheim.