Patrick Turk comes from a long line of well-respected
London Master Tradesmen. He can trace his ancestry back to 1706. In each generation there have been either Chair Makers, French Polishers or Cabinet
Makers.
Many
of the hand tools Patrick uses today are the same ones used by his
great grandfather who was a chair maker in Bethnal Green, London in the late 1800's.
Established as a Cabinet Maker and Furniture Restorer for over 24 years following a 4
year apprenticeship in furniture restoration and wood turning, Patrick
has gained a wealth of experience and knowledge in the design and
construction of furniture through the ages. It is this knowledge that he
draws on when creating the pieces for the Forest2Furniture
collection.
Although the company he served his apprenticeship
with
were not cabinet makers this was not a problem for him, as Patrick has
always had a
natural ability to look at a piece of furniture and know how to make
it. He says "I can't explain how or why but I just know how to make
it. It must be something in my genes passed down through the
generations".
He says "It would be nice to say that the furniture
starts as a
sketch on a drawing pad; from there a working drawing is made so that a
cutting list can be prepared. However, sometimes there are no
sketches or
drawings; sometimes I just have a picture in my head of the piece I want
to make and need to go
with the flow allowing my hands and mind to work in unison."
As
with all artisans and their art, it is the medium in which they work
that dictates how the final piece will turn out. In Patrick's case it is
the
characteristics of the timber - the grain pattern, the colours, the
knots, etc - that determine the final design.
Being able to see the tree
in its natural environment in the forest, controlling the cutting,
planking and drying phases through to the finale of the finished piece
is a tremendous buzz that few artisans ever enjoy.
He who works with his hands is a labourer He who works with his hands and his head is an artist He who works with his hands, his head and his heart is an artisan (St Francis of Assisi)
Making The Furniture
Settle in the 'white' (this is the term used for furniture before any finish is added) waiting for the first coat of stain prior to being polished.
We use traditional techniques and methods in the construction and finishing of our furniture.
The picture below shows how we secure boards together for a table top by cutting a mortice into the edge and then fitting a lose tenon into it. Once the boards are fitted together these tenons will be pegged in the same way as any other mortice and tenon would be which will result in the boards being held firm together.
Each piece is hand finished using a pure beeswax polish the recipe for which has been passed down from generation to generation.
This photo shows detail of the burr Oak used in the back panel of this hall chair. Photo taken after first coat of stain has dried and before polish is added.
Once the timber leaves the woodland and arrives at our premises for drying it doesn’t leave until it is made into furniture.This gives us complete control of the drying process and ensures that our carbon footprint is as low as possible.
We use off-cuts for firing the cooking range and the shavings are either formed into bricks for burning or are sent to a local butcher who uses them for smoking meat.
Now that you've seen how we transform fallen trees into furniture please feel free to view the collection. We try to add new pieces are every 4 - 8 weeks so please bookmark us.
