In|Organic - This piece has been over a year and a half in the making, and I’m extremely proud to now have it on display as part of the Ash Rise Exhibition now on at the Edinburgh Royal Botanical Gardens @rbgedinburgh .
The piece is inspired by paradoxical relationship that humans have with nature. Very rarely do we find beauty in the wilderness and chaos of untamed nature, instead we tend to seek to control nature. Think of almost every ‘nice’ garden you’ve ever seen - neatly mown grass, carefully trimmed hedges & shrubs, well defined borders. In|Organic reflects this - a flowing organic vine growing across the door fronts, cruelly segmented and framed in a cabinet of harsh right angles.
I want to thank @scottishfurnituremakers for trusting me to bring this piece to life. I also want to say how humbled I am by every maker & artists contribution to Ash Rise, I feel honoured to be among you.
Ash Rise is a celebration of the Ash Tree, a tree that is at huge risk due to a fungal disease. The exhibition is presented by @scottishfurnituremakers & supported by @scottishforestry and @creativescots . It will be on show at the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Gardens until January, go check it out.
I’m about to start work on my second carved panel, in this case for a bed headboard. As I prepare designs for the headboard I thought it would be a good time to re-visit this first project.
The purpose of this project was to learn, so now is the perfect time to critically evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of both the design and techniques I used.
#woodworking #woodcarving #finewoodwork #maker
The chest of drawers is done. Finally. After 3+ months of off-and-on work it’s so nice to finally have it in the home and in use.
I’ll write more about this project in the next few posts. For now, here are some photos.
#finewoodworking #chestofdrawers #woodcarving #functionalart #finefurniture
Dovetailing the carcass on the Rituals Drinks Cabinet. Our lives are filled with rituals, from the moment we wake until we go to sleep. Brewing coffee, walking the dogs, skin care routine… This cabinet is for a ritual as old as humanity. A quiet evening, and a glass with friends, family, and loved ones.
Full furniture build on my YouTube channel. Link in bio.
#madeinscotland #scottishdesign #contemporarydesign #finefurniture #sculpturalfurniture
I loved building this bench, it was so much fun. It was the first large scale project I’ve done without any technical/ CAD drawings, and you know what, it was super liberating. All I had was a rough sketch, and the rest of the design process was done in the moment.
The bench is on display in @jackverrandesign ‘s beautiful show garden at Scone Palace. It’s also for sale (both the bench and the garden), so if you’re interested then ping me a dm.
Love to you all 🫶#
#madeinscotland #scottishdesign #contemporarydesign #scottishcraft #sculpturalfurniture
I didn’t really know how I’d go about achieving the look I wanted from these charred stump bench legs.
At first I thought a smooth gradient from black to natural Oak would look good but when I tried that A) I didn’t have anywhere near enough control with the blowtorch to produce a smooth gradient, and B) The colours in between black and Oak were grey and muddy instead of the rich warm brown and caramel tones I wanted.
So if not a gradient, then a sharp line with burned on one side and clean wood on the other. Creating this was also weirdly difficult. The blowtorch also doesn’t do clean lines very well either.
Long story short, after some experimenting, I figured out that I could use a wire wheel on the angle grinder to create texture where I wanted the stump charred, then burn it with the blowtorch, and then come back again with the grinder to clean up the transition.
I ended up following it up with some walnut coloured stain to just bring it to life and deepen the colours a little bit more.
Part 3 coming soon.✌️
#madeinscotland #scottishdesign #contemporarydesign #sculpturalfurniture #finefurniture
I was quite sad when I finished this project. The absence of strict dimensions to work to made the process of carving and shaping the bench incredibly liberating.
I designed this bench for @jackverrandesign ‘s show garden located at Scone Palace. Their garden, titled ‘After the Fire’ takes you along a Fibonacci spiral path that begins as a scorched landscape after forest fire, and follows the process of regeneration, culminating in lush vegetation. This Bench mirrors that process, emerging from charred Oak stumps, growing into the seat, with shoots of new growth, symbolised by pale Ash and Sycamore that form the backrest.
The final image credit goes to @tinasorensenphotography who captured gorgeous photos of this bench and many other pieces at the @scottishfurnituremakers annual show.
Stay tuned for Parts 2 & 3 and the full Youtube video which will be coming soon!
#madeinscotland #scottishdesign #contemporarydesign #scottishcraft #sculpturalfurniture
Upcoming Dalkieth exhihibitor Nikita Wolfe's ‘Origin’ is an exploration of texture and art within my furniture design. It portrays an abstracted scene of the Sea, the Sun and Mountains, which are, in my eyes, the three great natural deities that govern life on our planet.
And 'From the flames' draws inspiration from woodlands' resilience and regeneration after forest fires. Charred and sculpted Scottish Oak form the seat and legs with steam bent Scottish Ash and sycamore making up the back rest the transition from charred to dark to light symbolises resilience and regrowth
See @_wolfestudio_ incredible work at @dalkeith_country_park
10-4pm Friday the 13th - Sunday the 15th of June.
Free admission, Dalkieth Palace, dalkieth, EH22 1ST
#furnitureexhibition #scottishmakers #interiors #interiordesign #handmadefurniture #dalkiethcountrypark #functionalart #furnituredesign
Mara was the heart and soul of our home. I rescued her almost 6 years ago, from a shelter in Lebanon; the same shelter my fiancee used to volunteer at.
Mara and I travelled for 3 days to get home, first a flight to Amsterdam, and then the over-night ferry to Newcastle, and finally a train up to Edinburgh.
Mara had a wonderful life with us, and I’m so thankful for every second of it. She loved running through fields and forests, but most of all water. Any water. Whether it be sea, river, loch, or pond; she would surge through the currents effortlessly, her fur saturating and rippling with elements. She became our little water spirit.
Her death was abrupt and cruel. In six weeks she went from a seemingly happy and healthy dog, to being in so much pain that no amount of medication would help. We found out about the cancer and two weeks later put her to sleep. We didn’t even get a chance to fight for her.
For Christmas I made my partner a set of three framed prints. They now hang above our bed, and Mara watches over us as we sleep.
I named my practice Wolfe Studio, in part, because of her. She was a little wolf, my wee behind the scenes mascot.
It seems silly to mourn the loss of a dog so strongly. Especially in a world and a time where so many people are enduring suffering that is so many magnitudes greater than my own. And even know it feels a bit strange to post this, as if I’m somehow disrespecting others who have lost more than I have. That isn’t my intention at all.
My motivation and creativity has evaporated since her death, but as the new year unfolds I’m beginning to feel some small sparks of inspiration. My energy is now going into coaxing those sparks into infernos.
If you’ve read this far then I thank you and apologise for such a depressing post. It’s a one off, I promise.
Happy New year and Love to you all xx
Part 2 of making the drawer in my cabinet for Ash Rise exhibition. This video shows the process of carving out the recess for the handle, charring the drawer front, carving and inlaying the handle, and then inlaying the flowing strands.
I’ve tried staining wood black many times, and have never been happy with the result. Natural wood has continuous colour variations giving it depth and texture, a quality that’s often lost when simply adding stain. Charring and scrubbing the wood accentuates the grain and creates a tonal base with subtly changing shades of black and dark brown. This can then be followed up with a dark brown stain to create a surface that appears black, but still preserves depth of colour and texture.
It’s a longer process and not without it’s risks as the charring will likely cause the wood to warp. But when it works, the result is far superior to simply applying a couple of coats of stain and finish.
@scottishfurnituremakers@rbgedinburgh@rbgecreative
#madeinscotland #scottishdesign #ashrise #finefurniture #contemporarydesign
I’m going to start off by saying that I’m a dovetail novice. It’s a little bit embarrassing and feels like something I should be pretty competent at by now. The reality is though, that hardly any of my projects so far have ever called for the use of dovetails so I’ve never needed to practice them and I’ve also never prioritised practicing them in my spare time.
This drawer is part of my In|Organic Credenza that I made for the #ashrise exhibition held at @rbgedinburgh . If you’re in Edinburgh you still have a couple of weeks to catch it before it travels down to Dumfries.
The design of the drawer front mimics the front of the cabinet with flowing sculpted lines contrasted on a black background. Check out part 2 to see how I charred, stained, and carved to create it.
@scottishfurnituremakers
#ashrise #madeinscotland #scottishdesign #finefurniture #contemporarydesign
