Where are they now?

February 23, 2017

I started restoring furniture in 1996 and by 1998 clients started commissioning bespoke pieces from me. In this blog I have selected a few of these projects from between 1999 and 2006  and revisite them to ask, where are they now? 

David’s bench, 1999
In 1999, when I was just starting out in Barcelona, I acquired one of my first large commissions. The commission was for a matching dining table and bench. The top surface was a two-inch thick layer of Maple, which was held on four-inch legs of ebonised Iroko. The design featured my first large mortise and tenon joints. When my client, David moved house the table remained, but the bench travelled with him.

 “Your first bench has now become my longstanding bedside table. It’s a simple work of art that remains consistent, durable and faultless.” – David

Fireland Flow cabinet, 2003
The cabinet was made in 2003 to be an exhibition piece. It comes out on the road with me less often these days as I have new pieces that I want to exhibit. It’s always painful when one of my babies are mistreated, but apart from a small scratch (much to my annoyance) inflicted by a member of the public’s rucksack, it remains in perfect condition.

Michael’s table, 2005
Michael commissioned a small, high table in solid Cherry and Ebony. We worked on the design together and it was a fusion of a traditional style with a contemporary twist.

“The hall table I commissioned was a collaboration between the two of us that to this day I still admire. It is made of handpicked woods, which have aged beautifully as the colours have deepened over the years. It still remains in the same place it did twelve years ago as a hall table enduring the use that we have put it to with bits and pieces like keys being put on it which might well have scratched it but doesn’t seem to have done so. 

It truly is a timeless piece with a design that is still in keeping with our new décor even when we renovated our house. You put a lot of effort into making the table to the highest quality and the finish is quite excellent.” – Michael 

Martino’s lamps, 2006
Martino commissioned two lamps which were a combination of thin, solid wood strips, which made up the lampshade struts and veneered pieces which formed the structural parts of the project. Solid wood plugs were glued into the struts to hold the structure in place and then the lamps were finished with a few coats of oil.

“I still absolutely love those lamps and finding a place that does them justice is always a challenge. They are still in brilliant condition, with very little change in them since they were new. Since we are in the process of redecorating, I am excited to re-think where and how we will use the lamps.” – Martino

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