My interest in working with wood stretches back to my childhood when I used to make all sorts of odds and sods.

However my ancestors’ interest in working with wood stretches back many generations;  my great grandfather came out to Australia in 1855 as a ship’s carpenter.  He then  spent his time on the goldfields in NSW and Queensland; making whatever the miners needed.

This family tradition of working with wood continues to the present day. Of course, working with wood in Australia goes back much longer than European settlement.  Aboriginal people have been working with wood for hunting, gathering and shelter, for 50,000 years, or more.

I have a particular interest in producing what is called ‘rustic’ furniture; which provides  a simplicity of design, to maintain the natural beauty of the timber. This is something which is lost in the mass produced disposable furniture of today. I have desk and chair made by my father about 80 years ago from a silky oak tree from his backyard.

I feel that making rustic furniture is something akin to the work of the alchemists where one form (a piece of a tree) is transformed through the creative process to a completely different entity  (e.g. a piece of furniture). I am endeavouring to produce my furniture primarily from locally grown trees, recycled timber, or driftwood.

In the gallery on this website are some examples of pieces that I have made, to give you a picture of what I mean by rustic. However please be aware that each piece is unique and has been determined by available timber and the creative spark;  it is not possible to reproduce identical pieces..

Regards,
Philip Pronger