Good morning my lovelies, how are you all? Ready to meet someone super interesting? I hope so! I met these lovely people over on Twitter and fell in love with their furniture, so have a read, take a look at their sites, and I am pretty darn confident you will also love their work!
1. Whats yer name and where d’ya come from?!
My name is Jonathan Taylor and I’m proprietor of Fathers Shed, bespoke upholstery and soft furnishings and together with Andy Ingram we now also design bespoke pieces of furniture under the name FEiRD Design. I come from the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire on the Welsh border and Andrew comes from Monmouth in Wales, both are stunningly beautiful areas to live and work and we feel very lucky indeed!
2. How long have you been doing what you do, and how did you get into it?
I’ve been working within the design and upholstery business for 14 years and in my own business for four years now. I basically fell into it by accident when a local Interior Design company invited me to their opening weekend and when they discovered I could use a sewing machine and new about design and fabrics they offered me a job which I accepted! I’ve never looked back from that day on.
3. What is the hardest part of your work?
I find the hardest part of doing this quoting and pricing jobs, I like to make sure that I’m fair but also that I’m not undercutting myself which I seem to do on a regular basis! One day I’ll learn!
4. And what is the most rewarding?
By far the most rewarding part of doing what I do is the look of joy and amazement on a customers face when they see a piece of furniture totally transformed by what we do, I’ve literally had people in tears when they thought that a cherished item was beyond repair and refurbishment and we return it to them better than new and ready to go on for many more years to come.
5. What do you class yourself as – artist, designer/maker, crafter, creative?
Can I choose all four Lol? I guess if I have to pick just one I would have to describe myself as designer/maker although obviously there are elements of craft, creativity and art involved in everything we create at Fathers Shed.
6. Who from the creative world do you admire?
That’s simple, Lee Broom. He is runner up in the Elle Decoration Magazine Designer of the Year of which he won last year and it’s easy to see why. His designs are ingenious whilst being uncomplicated with elements of traditionalism in their origins. Genius!
7. Where does your inspiration come from?
My inspiration comes from everything around me, from everyday objects, to a beautiful view or something that I see whilst out and about or something that I read. I meet a lot of people doing what I do and see a lot of different interiors and furnishings and the way people use the space that they live in. There is inspiration in everything if you take the time to look.
8. Do you listen to music/watch TV whilst you are working, and if so, what?
I never watch TV as I find it very distracting whilst I’m working, but I always listen to music, that can be BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 6 music, Classic FM or Folk radio depending on what mood I’m in when I enter the workshop in the morning. Music definitely helps the creative process
9. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?
Andrew and I have recently been weighing up the pro’s and cons of acquiring a small shop in one of the local Market towns around where we live, but also the option of extending and improving the workshop to make provision for another studio for Andrew and on site shop/viewing area, Option 2 is the most appealing to us at the moment, and the cheapest lol!
10. What sacrifices have you made for your art?!
When I started out on my own 4 years ago I had to sell my car and Landrover to raise money for a van and I also had to make the difficult decision to demolish my late fathers beloved shed in order to build my workshop to the requirements that I needed, hence the name Fathers Shed, named after my dear old dads demolished shed!
Now I just know you are going to be desperate to find out more. First port of call is the facebook page – take a look at all the fab photos on there, and like the page whilst you are at it!
If you are a twitter fan, why not keep up to date with them and follow them?
A must do – check out the fab website – and keep re-checking – I have heard that it is going to be made even more betterer – not sure how as it is pretty spiffing as it is!
Oh, and mustn’t forget – check them out on Pinterest too!
mrsmcindoe 