Tag: Edinburgh

May 2018 – Craft Fairs and a Ladder

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This month I’ve been hitting the craft fairs selling lamps and chopping boards. It’s been great meeting folk and other makers, and getting to travel around a bit. Gracchus got to try out the beginning of the West Highland Way in Milngavie, and here’s my stall:

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I’ve been to the makers market in Milngavie, and the Urban Market in Glasgow, and coming up are the West End Makers Market in Glasgow and the Scone Game Fair

The rest of the time I’ve been in Edinburgh making a very tall ladder from Douglas Fir. It now leads up to a high bed in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. Here’s my jig for routing the joints for the treads, and a picture of roughing out the curved hand-rails.

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And here’s the ladder getting nearer completion and Gracchus and Jess appreciating it.

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And the finished ladder…_N7A7592

 

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January to March 2018

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Memorial Bench

I was commissioned to design and make this memorial bench for the Woodend Barn Arts Centre in Banchory, Aberdeenshire. It’s made of Scottish oak and treated with teak oil. I designed it in an angular way to contrast with the landscape around Woodend Barn, and made the legs form part of the seat to give a sense of continuity. I cut, dimensioned, joined, assembled and oiled it in early January in my workshop at Newbattle Abbey. I’ll probably always associate this bench with watching the mad antics of my dog in the snow over too many cups of coffee with my co-workers.

 

Yew Lamp

This lamp was commissioned by an Edinburgh customer to match a lamp made by the owner’s grandparent so there was a pair to go on each side of a bed. It is made of Yew which darkens over time when exposed to sunlight, which is why there is such a difference in colour between the lamps.

Hand-turned Lamps

These lamps were hand-turned meaning that each one is unique. I used oak and elm and chose the timber for its colour and figuring which really comes to life when it is lit.  Some of the lamps have one or more circular inlays in the base. This is a technique I developed and as far as I know is unique to my work. I’m selling these throughout the year at makers’ fairs.

 

Bathroom Cabinet

I made this wall-mounted cabinet from Scottish elm and Scottish oak for the shelves and back. The panels on the door are book matched so they are a mirror image of one another – this is one of my favourite techniques in cabinetmaking.  The dark figuring on the door panels is called crotch wood and is formed where the tree branches. This wood is very dense and can have a lot of depth and colour.

 

Mirror

I made this mirror from Scottish elm. The top right corner is book matched meaning there is a line of symmetry along the join.

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July to December 2017

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Platform Bed and Bookshelf Ladder

I made this bed and the bookshelf stairs to create more space in a small bedroom in Leith.  The sleeping platform is fixed in to the walls so there is no need for supporting posts. The man who sleeps in the bed says he will keep his fiction on the stairs so that he can climb up a stairway of stories to go to sleep.

Windowsill Desk

This desk is made from oak and designed as an unintrusive working space.

Staircase Restoration

These stairs are in a house in the colonies in Edinburgh. They were originally painted and carpeted so needed to be sanded back to the bare wood and then oiled with a high solids protective oil.

Staircase Repair

These stairs were old and hadn’t been fitted well in the first place, so they made a terrible squeaking noise whenever anyone went near them. I added strengthening batons and used expanding glue to hold the stairs solidly together. They are now almost silent.

Desk with Leather Insert

This desk was commissioned by an academic living in Edinburgh. The leather insert was form an old family desk that was beyond repair. The wood I used for the desk is Scottish oak with beautiful figure and variation of colour. The draw front is made of book matched boards meaning that one side is a mirror image of the other. my client was very pleased with the fusion of traditional and modern styles.

 

Coffee Table

I made this coffee table top from reclaimed pitch pine take from an 18th century manse in Aberdeenshire. It is oiled which brings out the colour in redder and darker woods.

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Dining table

This 10-seat dining table was commissioned for a newly built house in Aboyne, Aberdeenshire. After visiting to see the house and discuss options I designed and made this dining table from Scottish elm. The whole table is made from the same tree which ensures that the colour of the wood is consistent over the whole table. There are few right angles in the design which made it a challenge to make.

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Bathroom Cabinet

This was commissioned by Hugh Parsons, a designer based in Edinburgh. The cupboard is made of lacquered birch ply with marquetry on the door front and polished brass pivot hinges.

 

 

Kitchen Cupboard

This walk-in cupboard in a tenement in Portobello was wasted space. I coordinated plastering and installed fitted drawers and shelving up to the ceiling to create as much storage space as possible.

 

Elm Letter Box

The corner joints are hand cut dovetails that are not cut flush with the sides of the box, this really brings attention to this beautiful jointing method. The handle on the lid is formed by following the grain of the wood.

 

Douglas Fir Bed

This bed was commissioned for a house in Peebles. It is made with Douglas fir. It has a slanted headboard for sitting up comfortably in bed and a sprung mattress base.