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Kevin Gauld was born in Kirkwall in Orkney. He creates beautiful hand-crafted furniture ranging from the traditional Orkney Chair to more contemporary design led individual pieces. Kevin recently made The Gallery a mirror in elm and teak which brings out the natural quality of the wood whilst simultaneously echoing the Orcadian landscape.
‘Most of the furniture made by Orcadian crofters for their crofts was made from reclaimed wood or found wood (often driftwood). The mirror that I have made is based on this theme as it is created from pieces of wood that might be overlooked by many as a piece that would be suitable for nothing more than firewood. It is made from a branch of an elm tree that blew over in a storm in 2015 in ‘The Willows’; a small, wooded area in Kirkwall, where the Willow Burn (stream) runs. The two parts of the branch are held together by four butterfly joints. These are made from teak which came from a ship called ‘Tennessee’ which ran aground on Orkney on the 25th May 1940 after colliding with another vessel. The ‘Tennessee’ had a cargo of teak on board which was salvaged by locals after the ship was declared a total loss after crews were unable to re-float her.’ – Kevin Gauld
Born, raised and educated in Orkney, Kevin has been working with wood ever since childhood. Growing up, he could always be found in the family garden shed making wooden items. His hobby developed into his passion when he left school in 1996 at the age of 16 to launch his much-desired career as an apprentice with a well-known local furniture maker who held a reputation for high-quality craftsmanship. Here, he continued to work and expand his skills and techniques for nine years, which eventually lead to him establishing himself as The Orkney Furniture Maker in April of 2007 with the aim of producing traditional furniture as well as his own new designs.
Kevin’s work brings together his passion for local traditional techniques and materials, combining them with innovation and design to create unique pieces with a connection to his island home. Every piece from the collection is individually created by him and his small, dedicated team. Kevin has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally and now has a world-wide customer base.
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