About BENT

Welcome to BENT, where quality meets affordability.  So where did BENT come from anyway?  And why do I make annealed copper bonsai wire?

First, i'll tell you a little about me.  My name is Tyler.  I grew up in Santa Cruz California.  Raised to respect nature, I was hiking in the Sierra mountains at 4 years old, spending many summer and fall days up at Mono Hot Springs, and surrounding areas, learning to fish, learning to camp in the outdoors, away from the busy cities, but surrounded by wild life.

My love for nature has grown over the years in various ways, and in 2022, I discovered bonsai.  While shopping for native plants to attract humming birds, I stumbled upon a free bonsai class being taught by Michael Nelson, the current acting president of Santa Cruz Bonsai Kai.  Michael was so enthusiastic about bonsai, and I was at the edge of my seat in the front row with my hand raised almost the whole lesson...not because Michael was ignoring me, but because I was blown away by the trees he had in front of me and I could not stop asking questions.  My obsession with bonsai began.

About 6 months later I attended my first session with Santa Cruz Bonsai Kai, and that is where I met Bob Potts of Rough Cut Pottery.  Bob and I quickly became friends as we both seemed to have a similar obsession with bonsai so we began to work on trees together during our free time. 

Then while attending a bonsai workshop at Santa Cruz Bonsai Kai in October of 2023, at the end of the workshop, the instructor 'JT' (John Thompson of the Midori Bonsai club) mentioned to me and Bob that he was ready to retire from making Bonsai wire after 30+ years.  It only took Bob about 3 seconds to suggest that I take over the role.  A couple weeks later I was at JT"s house learning how to anneal copper bonsai wire, this was a very exciting moment for me.  After a very detailed conversation with JT,  he said his final goodbye to his kiln, his spoolers, his wire, and his legacy as one of the major bonsai wire suppliers in California.  

This was the moment BENT was born.  On October 18th,  I had my first customer at the GSBF Rondezvous 2023.  Since then I have made countless spools of annealed copper bonsai wire that have been used by both professionals and hobbyists from California to New York.

One of My goals with BENT is to provide this highest quality annealed copper bonsai wire possible, at a price that is affordable.  From the spooling process to the shipping process, I work slowly with intention to bring the best annealed copper bonsai wire I can to the table while offering it at a competitive price.