Australian Wood Review – June 2017

http://www.woodreview.com.au 37

TECHNIQUE

17

http://www.agnewswaterputty.com.au

timbermate.pdf 1 13/02/17 4:52 PM

The Craftsman’s Road

My furniture making career
started before I left school. Being
dyslexic meant I didn’t really enjoy
the academic subjects but I did
thoroughly enjoy anything practical
and the woodshop was top of the list.

From school I went on to do a
two year City and Guilds furniture
making course in Portsmouth in the
UK. I knew then that this was the
career for me.

When I came to the end of
my course at college I saw
an advertisement for an
apprenticeship at the Edward
Barnsley Workshop in the UK. I
had heard that this was one of
the best places in the country to
be trained as a cabinetmaker. The
Barnsley Workshop only accepts
one apprentice each year so it’s
extremely hard to get that spot.
Thankfully I gained an interview
and was able to show the pieces
I made at college. Following that
I had to go back for a trial week
during which the test was to make
a small stool completely by hand
with no machines or any advice. It
was a very nerve wracking week
I’ll tell you, but thankfully I did well
and was accepted.

As part of the five-year
apprenticeship I spent a year
studying under James Krenov at

the College of the Redwoods in

California. Here I was free to design

and make my own pieces. It was a

very inspiring experience.

I stayed on for two years at the

Barnsley Workshop as a craftsman

and teacher. After this I was offered

a job as a senior craftsman with the

prestigious furnituremakers Senior

and Carmichael and worked there

for nine years.

During my career I have been

awarded two Guild Mark

certificates by The Worshipful

Company of Furniture Makers:

one for a side table I produced

while at the Barnsley Workshop

and another for a mechanical

cylinder desk commissioned by

the Marchioness of Bath.

I have also had the privilege to make

a commission for a duchess and a

display cabinet for the former Lord

Chancellor that now resides in the

Palace of Westminster.

Currently I am a senior tutor at

Marc Fish’s Robinson House Studio

furniture school in Newhaven in

the UK. I enjoy passing on the

knowledge I have gained over the

years to the students and I am able

to also work on my own creations.

See http://www.robinsonhousestudio.

co.uk for more information.