Tim Stead.

Last Friday we went on a visit to the late (and some say, great) Tim Stead's workshop and home. Now unless you are a woodworker, I would presume you are unlikely to have heard of him before now. I certainly had no idea who he was before this year, and he doesn't even have a wikipedia entry. Described as a wood artist and sculptor, he is famous for a signature style which involves lots of burr (mostly elm), waney edges and chunky arts & crafts style furniture. One of his more famous works is the Millenium Clock (in collaboration with Edouard Bersudsky, Annica Sandström and Jurgen Tübbecke), currently exhibited at the Royal Museum in Edinburgh. Whether you're a fan of his or not, he is certainly a man who had vision, and built his entire home in the same signature style.

The best description that I've heard to sum it all up is that he had a terrible attack of "wooditis" when he was working on it. Its not what I would subscribe to myself (it reminds me of Frankenstein meets Transylvania), but there were a couple of pieces here and there that I did like and it certainly made for an interesting visit.

Tim's living room (picture courtesy of http://www.timsteadfurniture.co.uk)

Waney-edged burr elm used as the top of a bed canopy

 Signature Tim Stead chairs

Now, seeing as to how I will be staying on in the workshop for another month, I've come to that stage in the creative process where I need to come up with a couple more designs, or at least know what I'm going to make next. I've been toying with the idea of making some space invader bedside cabinets/shelves - if anyone is interested in commissioning/sponsoring these or any other piece of furniture, please do get in touch!
Ta