Woodworking had been an amateur passion of mine for some years but in 1990 I decided to leave the security of Rolls Royce in Derby and concentrate on a career in furniture making.  Full of confidence but with little experience I moved into a unit at the Ferrers Centre in Leicestershire. The Ferrers was already established as a centre for arts and crafts and being part of it certainly helped my business start up. 

  For some years I also sold kiln dried hardwoods in partnership with the owner of the Ferrers Centre, John Blunt. The business, called Staunton Estate Hardwoods, gave me the opportunity to buy "green" hardwoods and follow the drying process through to kiln drying and sales - a valuable resource for any furniture maker. John, now in his eighties still has a strong interest in wood and woodland.

After the breakup of my first marriage I spent a few years in Lincolnshire with my partner ( now wife ) Kay but was drawn to my present workshop in Abbotsbury, Dorset in 2016. Originally the dairy to Gorwell Farm it was a bare shell when I arrived and took many months of hard labour to get to a point where I could start to make furniture. 

   My workshop and showroom completed I now can concentrate on my work in the beautiful rural landscape of Dorset. My workshop is just above Abbotsbury and only a few hundred yards from the Hardy Way footpath with it's stunning views along the coastline. I have a lot to be grateful for!