Woodland Heritage’s Best Use of British Timber Awards at the Celebration of Craftsmanship & Design exhibition aims to promote the use of local resources to produce pieces that have added meaning beyond their basic function.
Adrian McCurdy ‘Ark’
Jonathon Vaiksaar ‘Burr Elm and Resin Jewellery Box’
The use of local materials has numerous benefits for the designer-maker’s local economy and environment. The proper felling, processing and drying of wood are skilled trades that are important to preserve to ensure the continued effective management of the woodlands, forests and landscapes that we all enjoy. By using local materials in bespoke work, the exhibitors are ensuring that it is used beautifully, in an item that will be cherished and kept for generations.
Held annually in Cheltenham and heralded as ‘the UK’s largest exhibition of contemporary, bespoke designer-maker furniture’, Celebration of Craftsmanship & Design (like Woodland Heritage) marked its 25th anniversary this summer.
The award is open to all 70+ exhibitors and was judged this year by internationally respected designer and furniture maker, John Makepeace OBE, and Woodland Heritage Trustee and former furniture manufacturer, Roger Richardson. The criteria include design, species selection, use of timber, craftsmanship and provenance of the wood used; points are awarded to entrants who go out of their way to source timber locally and/or find out where their timber comes from.
This year’s winner of The Woodland Heritage ‘Best Use of British Timber Award’ went to the 'Ark' by Adrian McCurdy of Jedburgh and about which the Judges said:
“A masterpiece of skill and commitment made over several years, materially extraordinary, a truly individual piece of craftsmanship, and a contemporary expression of a craft tradition. We hope it finds a loving home.”
A sculptural version of a Medieval Ark, Adrian came across the ancestors of this piece when researching early oak furniture for museum replicas some 30 years ago. This traditional construction played in Adrian’s mind for many years as worthy of a contemporary version that could have a modern function to store the clutter that we all accumulate! As his wood stock grew the temptation became greater to assemble a mix of gently undulating pieces. Searching through his riven oak stock, going as far back as 2005, he found material from several different trees to choose from, all of which were felled locally to his workshop in the Scottish Borders.
Highly commended in the Award was a Burr Elm and Resin Jewellery Box by Jonathon Vaiksaar, about which the Judges said:
“The extraordinary combination of wood and a new material, translucent resin, heightens the beauty of the burr elm.”
The beautiful elm timber for this box was sourced from a Northumberland sawmill. It had been picked and dried by a fellow cabinet maker who shares Jonathan’s passion for hunting interesting UK timbers from the back of sheds!
Such small and irregular off-cuts present a quandary that will be familiar to many makers – beautiful timber that is just too awkward to be sensibly used. Where there is a will however, there is usually a way and it was Jonathan’s use of casting resins to enable the timber to become part of a practicable panel that impressed the judges.
More details about next year’s exhibition can be found at http://www.celebrationofcraftsmanship.com/