We create bespoke parquet, marquetry and wide board floors for some of Britain’s finest homes and municipal buildings, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Grade 1 listed Queen’s House at Maritime Museum, Greenwich.
These demanding and inspiring buildings surround me in superbly constructed furniture and interiors that will endure for centuries. These settings motivate my continuing journey on a lifetime of learning about this encyclopaedic craft.
It is this level of quality that has set the benchmark for all my projects.
Collaboration
Every piece of work is a collaboration between the client, myself and the materials. My aim is to make things that function perfectly, sit comfortably in their surroundings and make life more joyful.
A thoughtful and skilled artisan strives to do work that honours the faith placed in them by the client and the resources on which we rely. It is this considered and collaborative approach that elevates the work from mere functionality to utilitarian art. This can be anything from the mundane to the sublime, from a well fitted skirting board to the palaces at St Petersburg.
This craft would be nothing without the community of craftsmen, each with their own niche and specialism. I continue to draw on this wealth of expertise and work with other skilled professionals to build relationships.
A sense of permanence.
Timber is one of our few truly renewable resources.
A mature tree left alone in the forest will eventually rot and fall apart. Whilst it may then feed insects or maybe warm a homely fire, it will not realise its greatest potential.
The felling of a fully mature tree is a bittersweet experience. Bitter, because any tree is an object of immeasurable beauty that contains the full wonder of creation: sweet, because the felling of a tree is an exciting opportunity for its timber to be reborn as something of use and beauty. The canopy of the felled tree can be returned to the ground to feed insects and shelter animals and the forest floor is opened for new growth.
My aim is to make objects that will be used and treasured for at least the lifetime of the tree that made it.
Experience
I learned the fundamentals of elegant woodwork from my father, David Gunton, and his expert craftsmen.
