I guess I’ve been a designer maker for about 45 years, starting at a very young age.  I was given a fret saw at the age of 5 and that tool sure did get a workout.  We laugh now at my poor dad, who was woken constantly by that sawing, usually starting at around 4am.  My mum forbid him from saying anything to maybe start at a more reasonable hour.  “He’s being creative” was the catchcry.  Well, poor dad had many an interrupted night’s sleep.

From that period, not too much remains.  My mum collected small boxes so every year, I’d present her with at least 3 (birthday, Christmas and mother’s day).  Looking at them now, you can see the progression and skill in the design and make.  The early ones consist of 6 non regular sides glued with much optimism and tiny brass hinges for the lid.  My brother’s dry wit would come out … “it will never hold water” I remember him stating.  From there, they progressed through to water tight containers and eventually lapped joints and fairly well thought out design features.  One had tiny cabriole legs, another in the form of a rocking chair.  Looking at the tools available to me, I didn’t do too badly.

Later school years and university were a dry spell for making.  I studied mechanical engineering, unconsciously wanting to design and make into my career.  After uni. I travelled the world and met my partner, Jo.  We were travelling through the Philippines and it was her birthday.  I managed to find a couple of small craft knives and packing crate wood.  From this, I made up a picture frame for a drawing I’d made of the Chocolate Hills.  The need to make was still there.

We lived in England for a few years, and there made balsa planes and knock down shelving.  The shelving we still have and has a well thought out design and construction. 

On our return to Australia, the need for money and housing overtook much else.  I did quite a bit of renovation of a house we bought on the central coast.  I made up an octagonal pergola that we laughingly saw as the main feature the real-estate agent used recently whilst reselling the house.  Moving down to Victoria, these skills were honed by building my workshop and extensive renovation of our little miner’s cottage house.  Whilst satisfying to have a beautiful home, the rough nature of building did not fully sit right with my need for exactness. 

However, I took these building skills and with colleagues, set up a tiny house building business.  The design input needed for small living attracted me to this building subset.  Whilst it was fairly successful, it is difficult to basically build a 2.5m x 8m cabinet to the exacting standards I craved for a reasonable cost.  I was also dissatisfied that despite being a possible solution to the housing crisis, our local authorities worked night and day to make tiny houses illegal. 

Ever since our return to Australia, furniture design took up more and more of my attention.  I now have quite an extensive library outlining furniture through the ages.  Multiple notebooks are filled with my sketches inspired by this reading.  I also made up much of the furniture for our home.

And so I now have the space and time to follow my passion of timber design and make.  Whilst not formally trained, my lived experience coupled with my engineering bent direct me to a more whimsical aesthetic than much of the modern furniture available. 

The design part, I find all consuming.  Night and day I’ll try to realise the idea into physical form.  I use all tools available … paper, models, CAD and even upon occasion VR. 

The making is always the slightly more painful part for me.  Similarly to the design process, I use every tool … from that old fretsaw and chisel set my dad gave me, through to CNC production.  I find the satisfaction in realisation of a finished product is unparalleled.  It cannot be understated, and that for me is the draw.  To make something that is well thought out, designed and functional.

Nick April 2024