Throughout my career I have endeavoured to collaborate as much as possible. The amount you learn from working with someone else is staggering; new approaches, new techniques, new ways of seeing. Here is a selection of some of my favourites.

Parquet Table - collaboration with Seven Wood

A new project for 2016, this table has been designed around reclaimed parquet flooring that originated from Queens University in Belfast.  The collaboration was based on the notion of creating beautiful pieces of contemporary furniture, with thought & consideration. 

The parquet is made from pitch-pine which is highlighted in the piece by the ebonised oak frame. 

Tables can be custom made to size. For more see www.sevenwood.ie

Brick by Brick Collaboration - World Wood Day 2016 in Nepal

As part of World Wood Day 2016 in Nepal, I was again invited, along with Jacques Vesery, to run the collaborative project for the annual celebration of wood culture. Our team was comprised of 19 wood practitioners from 14 countries and the challenge posed was, with no pre-event planning, to design and build a large scale installation from wood to be presented at World Wood Day a fortnight later. Basing ourselves at Vidyarthi Niketan School in Bhaktapur, we decided our only course of action was to build some playground equipment for the kids who stared wide-eyed at our motley crew each morning.

Wooden Stonewall Project - Carlow Arts Festival 2013

In June of 2013 I participated in the Carlow Arts Festival wood project. Entitled "Improvisations on the Theme of an Irish Stone Wall", the aim was to make a full-size, 6.5m long dry stone wall completely out of wood, in one week.

I was one of twenty wood practitioners selected to take part; ten from Ireland and ten internationals. The event took place at Glenn Lucas' Woodturning Study Centre in Carlow.

Under the artistic direction of Terry Martin (Aus) we spent seven unforgettable days in intense activity, to produce the installation on time. The wall has been on show at Visual Contemporary Gallery, Carlow for the duration of the summer.

For an insight into how the week progressed you can view a video online here. 

Here’s an interview I did with Eleanor Flegg for RTÉ’s Culture File about the project.