Pete Craven
Pete joined us in 2017 following a successful career as an engineer. Pete was already designing and making furniture as a hobby which combined with his problem solving and computer skills gave him a good base to work with on our full year designer maker course. His skills developed quickly and Pete was quickly making pieces of high quality. This quality can be seen in his interpretation of the wall hanging cabinet which is made during term 1.
It was in the self designed project phase of the course where Pete excelled. He was determined to get as much out of every moment in the school and always looked to push himself technically. Even in the first of his self designed projects we could see the engineer in Pete being put to good use.
Pete used his next project to explore further his developing enjoyment of hand shaping. The use of Maloof inspired joinery in his Cherry chair allowed for some beautiful hand shaped detailing.
Taking inspiration from the Moire effect Pete really engaged with the way we teach design at the school. We encourage our students to seek inspiration from both furniture design but also the wider visual world. This drinks cabinet combines an appreciation of Scandinavian soft design with the Moire effect. The results when the sliding doors pass over each other can only be seen when in motion but I assure you it was striking.
And with only 3 week of the course left Pete decided to squeeze in a final project which allowed him to explore a few extra processes. Laminating, jig creation for mating male and female components seamlessly and ebonising. And what a fun result.
Having completed the course Pete gained a position as a cabinet maker at the workshops of Edward Johnson where he has continued to refine his making skills through the delivery of some truly top end pieces of both fitted and free standing furniture.
In 2022 Pete will rejoin Waters and Acland where he will work within our development workshop. Here he will be responsible for making our private commissions whilst also being a mentor to those that choose to rent bench space following on from their Designer Maker courses.
