I am going to be launching a range of small furniture items
including a coat rack and single-shelf, free-standing book case called the'
Book Hound' at the Art Trail. I will
also have some smaller items for sale; desktop boxes made from hardwoods left over from previous
commissions.
How have you been preparing for this year's trail?
I have been designing and making small furniture items and photographing recent
commissions with a view to updating my portfolio and demonstrating the sort of
work that I do on a regular basis.
Could you tell us about an an artist that particularly inspires you?
I really like the work of contemporary Japanese designers;
Tomoko Azumi is someone that I always look out for. She first came to my
attention in the late 90's in an exhibition at the Crafts Council called
'Flexible Furniture' I think. To my mind
she achieves truly beautiful design with the minimum of fuss, and has the most
brilliant eye for simple detailing in all her pieces which makes them stand out
from the crowd.
How does inhabiting a community like Walthamstow help your
practice?
The St James Workshop was formed just over 2 years ago now,
after we had been forced out of Dalston because of soaring rents. We have a good relationship with the other
tenants on the small Brunner Road estate but as commissioned-based furniture
makers, our work takes us all over London and we have yet to forge links with potential clients closer to home.
I love trying out new things for lunch from the market,
something that I thought I had left behind in Dalston and Ridley Road market.
What are you most looking forward to during the E17 Art
Trail this year?
I am looking forward to meeting the locals, letting them
know about our workshop and demonstrating to them that comissioning bespoke
furniture is nothing to frightened of. Our machinery has some very sharp teeth, but we don't!
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