John Thatcher

I trained as a Cabinet Maker more than 20 years ago at The Sheffield College where I studied City & Guilds Furniture from 1994 to 1996. I have been based at Yorkshire Artspace for most of the intervening years. I have always been keen to use responsibly sourced raw materials, for example by using only FSC timbers. In the last couple of years I have discovered a local source of high quality air-dried English timbers. Therefore I now know not only why individual trees were felled and planked-up, but also where and when. This adds to the story I can offer clients who commission a furniture piece. I am currently using some stunning planks of English Walnut from a wind-fallen tree that grew on a country estate in Nottinghamshire. I will soon be collecting several planks of Sweet Chestnut which should have stunning grain patterns and colour.