The Designer and the Maker
I discovered my love of working with wood when I inherited my grandfather's tools at the age of fourteen. After school I took up an apprenticeship with local artist Mark Zygadlo and completed my national certificate in cabinet making. I then completed an HND in furniture making and design at the former College of Building and Printing in Glasgow. I furthered my training in Dijon in France where I received the cabinet-making qualification, the Certificat D'Ebenisterie, and eventually I completed a BSc honours degree in furniture production and management at Brunel University's High Wycombe campus.
I settled in England for a number of years where I worked for a number of bespoke furniture firms including Mark Wilkinson Furniture, who's clients include renowned chef Michel Roux Jr.
I am now living back in the South West of Scotland near the village of Penpont where I grew up and am at my happiest designing and making pieces of furniture here in my workshop that I know people will fall in love with. I enjoy working with a customer, finding out what they are about and making them something that they will adore.
I use local sustainable timbers and reclaimed timbers in all my pieces, my favourites being oak and elm and I like to use burrs - timbers with character that tell you their story. I carefully select each piece for it's beauty and colour then use the right finish to bring it to life.
Philip J Wilson