“I’m always striving for simplicity in design, mixing elegant, simple shapes with beautiful timber.”
Alasdair Wallace is describing a table that he made for an exhibition at the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh:
“Simple, functional, and a standout piece. It was showing off an amazing bit of elm in a refined way.”
“I love the feel of wood, the different smells of it, and that it was something growing and ancient, that it has a story long before it comes to me.
I find it beautiful and mesmerising, and enjoy the craft side of it – there is a real heritage and connection with history. We’re constantly reminded of how much more graft it would have been to work with wood in the past.”
“I’ve been here for around 13 years. I was originally attracted by the collective set-up. I’d been running a business in Carlisle, and wanted to join up with others. At college, one of the great things was a shared space, and that very much appealed to me here. The other attraction was the timber and material on site, and being involved in that process – it was something I wanted to be part of and to make it a special part of my making process.
I try to make things that are a bit special. What I make is often full of curves, with interesting angles where the curves meet. The knock-on effect of all the curves is that it makes it more complicated to make. I get satisfaction from the achievement of doing it.
However, I am always critical of the final result, I always want to be better for next time.”
