Unique creations
Working almost entirely with found materials, specifically timber, I see wonder and potential where they may appear on first glance to be none. Often completely detaching myself from the materials original use. My aim is to answer my own question, “Why are we not using up what we already have?" The environment has already paid the price for so much, why take more?
My furniture creations break the mould of the in-vogue concept of merely up-cycling. I search for the beauty hidden in an objects original form. Through slicing, arranging, rearranging and even turning the inside out - I find such beauty.
Gallery / Furniture / Lighting
LATEST PROJECTS / SHOWS / EVENTS
A wonderful aspects of working with wood, is knowing a little about its origin, especially if it’s being reused. This elegant work, which I’m really proud of, is a case in point. The top is made from flooring joists and an old Kauri door from a cafe in mount Eden. The Kauri balustrades on the other hand, are from Ranfurly House in Three Kings, Auckland. There are 120 of them, and they are also 120 years old.
I’m really interested in using forms and shapes that appear within the original designs of the salvaged materials; but I try to reassemble them to create something beautiful and new. In this case, the material was salvaged Rimu floor boards and posts from an old house near Mangawhai.
Oak Coffee Table Reconstructed, refurbished and re-designed from an oak 1930s dining table, this beautiful and elegant coffee table is just delightful to use.
Pointless is an individual sculptural piece derived from salvaged pine and rimu.
Turning the inside out is a strong influence in this work, as is examining the new life given to it. From its origins of furniture to its new sculptural form.
This fascinating little body of work was made in my workshop on the Kaipara harbour. It’s made from a range of native New Zealand timbers, including 50,000 year-old Swamp Kauri, Rewa rewa, Rimu, Macrocarpa, Pine, Kauri, Cedar and some unknown.
Gorley is an individual sculptural piece developed from salvaged kauri having a painted and stained finish. The work was inspired by the village of Gorley near to where I grew up, with the common sight of donkeys grazing. Its origins were derived from two different sources with the centre form, once a finial - an architectural piece from a building.
It's Furniture Man priced at $850 are a set of two sculptural pieces derived from salvaged materials of kauri, mahogany and pine timbers. Each individual piece of timber was chosen for its inherent shape and form and a process of experimentation occurred with the final 'human figures' positioned side by side.
This artwork started with an old kauri door, which had probably seen better days. But all I could think about was what history it had witnessed; what hands had opened it in anticipation, fear, or joy.
This sculpture uses a series of carefully placed cut plywood blocks to form two opposing triangles. At a basic level, this piece evokes the eternal opposites: light and darkness; good and evil; yin and yang; creation and destruction. Like two sides of the same coin, one entity needs the other in order to exist.
This work is made almost entirely from recycled pine balustrades, which are sanded, primed, then repainted. It’s a simple, but elegant design made to last – with robust mortise and tenon joinery. I have a slight obsession about slicing through balustrades; I always think it’s a bit like looking back through time. The unusual unexpected patterns are a real bonus too.