Max Eastwood grew up in Devon, and has been working with wood since he was five years old. “I have been around woodworking my whole life,” he says. “My father was a furniture maker. Playing and learning in has woodwork shop I remember making all sorts of things, from toy aeroplanes to cabinets.”

This led him to study furniture making at Leeds College of Art, where he graduated with a BA with honours. The 30-year-old wood artisan currently works full-time for a local workshop. In his spare time, he enjoys creating simple but functional items where he focuses on allowing the natural beauty of the wood to emerge.

He elaborates, “Mainly I start with some ideas then sketch, refine and build, picking boards to suit my designs. But sometimes, I let the board determine what I make. The variety and beauty of timber is one of the joys of working in this industry. I have used exotic timbers which are beautiful. However, I mainly use British hardwoods like ash, oak and chestnut. My favourite timber from a visual perspecive is English cherry. From a workability point of view, ash is generally a pleasure to use.”

The first piece of furniture Max made was a set of drawers from English cherry using all hand techniques, which still has pride of place in his mother’s bedroom. But his favourite piece so far is the contour chair shown here.

“It involved drawing together many of the skills I had learnt during my studies. Being a particularly challenging project to complete, I am very proud of the finished piece. Its sculptural and ergonomic design in particular are features I feel worked in the way I intended them to,” he says.

Max will be showing small items made from local hardwoods including chopping and mezze boards and tablet stands, as well as some larger items of furniture at the Christmas Makers craft fair at ANRAN.

To see more of his products, visit www.meandeast.com or email maxeastwood@me.com.