Medium: Woodworking - Furniture design

Website: http://www.johnleefurniture.com/

John Lee was also shortlisted for the Golden Fleece Award in 2011

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I am applying for the award to help me respond to and fulfil an exclusive invitation to exhibit as a solo furniture designer maker in the prestigious FLOW gallery, London in Summer 2012. I propose using the funding in a number of specific ways within a very definite time frame. The funding would firstly contribute to the purchase of a new planer thicknesser for my workshop. The planer thicknesser I hope to purchase is made by Felder and costs approximately €12,000 including VAT.

While my craft involves a considerable amount of hand work, machinery is required for converting the raw timber into more manageable and usable hand pieces. A planer thicknesser is one of the most important pieces of equipment in a bespoke furniture making workshop. The one I am currently using was manufactured in 1954 and as my career has progressed and my work has become more complex, to have a piece of equipment which can consistently prepare timber to tolerances of within 0.01 mm can only further help progress the development of design concepts for my dynamic new body of work.

In the context of developing a new body of work for the solo show, funding would enable me to effectively allocate a set amount of time each week to experiment and develop new concepts in a professional manner with the structure and discipline of a specific time frame and target. It would thus have a major impact on the evolution of my workshop, the benefits of which will hopefully be felt for many years to come.

Flowing between the boundaries of fine furniture and fine art, my work combines innovative design and exceptional craftsmanship.

Inspired by naturally occurring geometric forms, my current work is exploring the enhancement of timber's natural properties whilst experimenting with form, function and finish. Concentrating on making my furniture more sensually appealing, I am investigating textured finishes by exposing the timber's natural grain patterns on my dynamic forms. This dynamism is most evident in my recent work, where I create a 'twist' in the plane of many of my pieces. In creating this change I take great care to ensure that the proportion and scale of the manipulation is correct and deftly crafted. Observers of these pieces may be drawn to the changes in plane, the curves of the drawers and the 'rightness' of the proportions but they will delight in the detail: drawers that effortlessly open, finely finished jointing and beautifully understated leather lined drawers all combine to make this furniture that will occupy a special place in the mind of all who see it.