I often get asked ‘how do you do the carvings?’ or ‘what machine does the carvings?’  and even (cringe) ‘where do you buy the carvings?’ While we do enjoy the benefits of using a wide range of wonderful modern machinery and tooling, I believe that carvings should be done the old fashioned way and that is of course… hand made.

Labour Of Love

It is incredibly time consuming, but in my opinion the results simply can’t be matched. Each element demands many hours of carefully designed artwork that’s hand traced into its intended position. A range of specialised shaped carving chisels are then used to slowly relieve the background, gradually building up the desired level of detail. Variables such as the hardness of the species and the individual grain direction of each piece of timber can also factor heavily in the process.

Sculpture

As you can imagine, even the most basic motif can consume quite a bit of time to get just right, with more complex forms taking considerably longer again. However, I do believe the care that goes into the decorative elements is reflected in the finished piece, offering the owner many years of visual enjoyment knowing that a craftsmans’ finely honed chisel has graced their piece of furniture.

More Information

All our furniture is built, carved and polished to the highest standard in our Coopers Plains workshop. Our unique pieces are exclusive to Lacewood Furniture and are not available at retail outlets. If you would like more information on an existing product or our custom made services, contact us now.

Filed under: Features, The Craft by Mark Mills