Every piece I make begins with the wood, not the design. I choose each board by hand, shape it entirely in my workshop, and finish it there too — nothing is outsourced.
The woods I work with
These are the woods I work with, and all of them are available locally, which makes a piece easier to match or repair later. I choose between them according to the piece — and I don’t choose a wood because it is the most expensive, but because it suits the piece.
Walnut: The darkest wood I work with. Its grain is mostly straight, and what varies in it is colour rather than pattern — a single board holds a deep brown alongside lighter tones, and a pale edge close to white. I arrange that variation within the piece rather than hide it. In direct sun its colour mellows slightly over the years.
Oak: The most legible grain of any wood here. Its pores are open and its lines read from across a room, and its colour is a light to medium brown. When it is quartersawn, bright rays appear across the grain — one of the clearest things that distinguishes it — and I select, from the boards available, the ones that show them when I want that surface.
Beech: Pale, tending to cream, sometimes with a pink cast. Its flat-sawn face is quiet and has little to show, and quartersawn it reveals a fine silvery fleck, softer than oak’s. I use it for legs and turned parts because its quietness leaves the form to be seen.
Maple: The only one here where the pale outer wood is wanted rather than the darker heart — the reverse of every other wood on this page. I use both, depending on the piece: the pale where I want a light break beside a dark wood, and the heart where its colour suits. I leave it its natural colour, unstained.
Cherry: The one whose colour changes most. It leaves the workshop a pale pinkish brown and becomes a deeper reddish brown within months. The change happens where light reaches: if something sits on the surface for a long time you will find its shadow when you lift it, and the colour evens out again with time. It carries gum pockets and pale edges — I select from them what suits the piece and leave the rest visible, because it is part of the wood and not a fault in it.
I also work with other woods on request — teak and afrormosia among them — and I discuss them with you before we begin.
Made entirely by hand
Every piece begins with a drawing that settles its form and proportions. Then I choose the boards and examine their grain, prepare them and cut them for shaping. Next comes the carving and shaping by hand, where the piece takes its final form, then the joints, assembled by hand using traditional joinery. Last comes the sanding, and then the finish that brings out the grain and protects the surface.
All of this happens inside my workshop, from the first drawing to the last touch — fewer shortcuts, and more patience at every stage.
Chosen, not bought wholesale
I don’t buy wood wholesale. I choose every board myself, one board at a time. Then I arrange them within the piece: grain continuing into grain across the drawer fronts, and colour carrying from one side to the other. That is what I work towards in every piece — and what sometimes limits it is the wood available and the design of the piece itself.
This choosing and arranging takes more time and effort than buying wood as it comes — but it isn’t noticed as a step. It’s noticed in the piece once it’s finished.
Read more
How to Read a Handmade Piece — what to look at in the material, the construction and the finish
Caring for Your Piece — care instructions for your piece, based on its finish