Questions I get asked
These are the questions that come up most often, in the studio, at fairs and by email.
What is marquetry?
Marquetry is the art of making a picture or a pattern from wood veneer, which is wood sliced under a millimetre thick. The shapes are cut individually, fitted together with no gaps, and glued down onto a board as one sheet. Every colour you see is real wood rather than paint.
Do you buy coloured veneer, or dye it yourself?
I buy natural veneer and dye it myself. The dye goes all the way through the sheet, so the grain still reads through the colour and a scratch will not reveal a different colour underneath.
How long does one piece take?
A large panel takes months. Most of that time is cutting and fitting, which is done by hand with a scalpel, and a good part of it is spent before any cutting starts, choosing the veneer and working out where the joins should fall.
How big are the works?
The Innerysm panels are between about 124 and 172 cm tall. The Now series is smaller, around 62 cm tall and about a metre wide. This is unusually large for marquetry, which historically was made at the scale of furniture.
How much does a piece cost?
Prices currently run from £800 for a work in the Now series to £1,400 for the largest Innerysm panels. Every price on this site is the price everywhere, in the studio, at a fair and in a gallery.
What are you working on next?
A new series about addiction. The Now series is the introduction to it, and the first works will be available before long. If you would like to see them before they go public, the studio letter goes out first.
Can I commission a piece for a particular wall?
Yes. Commissions are a large part of what I do, and the usual starting point is the wall itself, its size, its light and what is around it. Write to me with a photograph and the dimensions and we can talk it through.
Do you ship internationally?
Yes. Within the UK I deliver personally, because a panel of this size travels better in a car than in a courier network. For anywhere else I crate the work properly and quote for shipping once I know the destination.
Is the work framed and ready to hang?
Yes. Each piece arrives framed, ready to hang, and with a signed certificate of authenticity.
How do I look after a marquetry panel?
Keep it out of direct sunlight, keep the room at a normal steady humidity and away from a radiator, and dust it with a dry soft cloth. Do not use silicone polish or household sprays, because they leave a film that is hard to remove later.
Can I visit the studio?
Yes, by appointment. The studio is at Gordon Works on Valley Road in Sheffield, and collectors are welcome to come and see work in person before deciding anything.
Do you work with galleries and interior designers?
Yes, and I am actively looking for gallery representation. Prices are set so that gallery commission works without changing what a collector pays, and I take on trade and subcontract work for design studios and furniture makers.
Why is marquetry called an endangered craft?
It is on the Heritage Crafts Red List of Endangered Crafts, the UK register of crafts at risk of disappearing. The training routes closed, the furniture trade moved to machine cut veneer and printed woodgrain, and only a handful of people in the UK still practise it by hand.