Based on a farm a few miles from Ledbury in Herefordshire, I've been making bespoke furniture for over 25 years. This slight departure from cabinet making started with making a couple of plywood boards for my own kids, as my dad had done for me in the 1970's. Starting with the shape of the classic Cornish bellyboards, I thought there must be scope for improving the materials, construction and performance, while applying the same quality and attention to detail as I do to the furniture I make.

Vacuum forming, laminating and veneering are a big part of my furniture design. This process gives the ability to form complicated, thin, light weight, strong, and most importantly, flexible structures. With the benefit of being repeatable and much less wasteful than shaping from the solid, thick materials that would otherwise be needed to create these forms.

Material choice is central to making this work. Firstly in a performance sense, and also with a view to sustainability. Key to both is thin Birch plywood sourced from Finland. This is the material that gives the strength and pliability to vacuum laminate such thin yet strong boards. British grown Western Red Cedar is the other material that when combined with the Birch, creates properties of flex and buoyancy that are quite unique to this combination. Portugues Cork can be added to allow for additional shaping and added buoyancy. All three materials are from strictly managed sources and are as close to being sustainable as I can be sure.