Tim Hawkins
http://www.finefurniture.co.uk
I am a designer maker of bespoke wooden furniture and trained first at Art
College before focusing my creative skills on furniture design.
Some years ago I decided to try to combine these two different areas of
interest by whenever possible making pieces which express something
about our lives and the world in which we live - pieces that I feel happily
stand their ground in the context of Art whilst still serving a practical
purpose.
I am inspired by nature and the world, by life experiences of my own and of
those around me and my pieces begin as a feeling, sometimes taking many
months of thinking and drawing before an idea crystallizes into a design
that can be made.
I try to express feelings or emotions in my work, creating furniture that can
be read as a viewpoint on various aspects of life and can be about anything
- from a money-box about the legal system to a double bed about love
relationships or a set of cabinets about our planet from a Maori viewpoint.
I am passionate about wood and enjoy making in both traditional and
contemporary styles in solid timbers, sometimes using combinations of
various contrasting woods.
This wonderfully interesting natural medium has many colours, textures
and properties that I shall continue to explore and from which I shall go on
learning.
I have almost thirty years of experience as a furniture maker and my late
grandfather and great-grandfather were ecclesiastical woodcarvers- |
myself feel privileged to have made pieces for Hereford Gathedral and for
various churches.
As well as exhibition and corporate pieces I also make furniture for the
home, and it is very important to me that each customer commissioning
furniture is happy with the designs which I create to suit them, whether they
live in a castle or a modest apartment.
For example - a piece for the home might reflect the interests of the
individual, as with an inlaid design for someone who wanted sailing boats
depicted in keeping with their hobby, whilst ecclesiastical furniture is
inspired by the character and requirements of each different church.
The architecture of Hereford's bridges inspired three exhibition pieces that I
made in 2008, whilst earlier and more recent pieces have been motivated by
parenthood, tree lore and water.
My ambition is to continue to make what I hope will be the heirlooms of the
future, combining the finest quality woods and age-old traditional methods
with my evolving knowledge and experience.