COLL TABLE
C O L L T A B L E
This is an iroko kitchen dining table to seat 6-8 people that I built for a doctor who has a practice in the Hebrides and a beautiful home a stone's throw from the sea.
After a long [we're talking years here] 'on off' courtship with a very old friend of mine the two were, finally, happily, married. Original presents for long established couples can be hard to find so their friends, and the local island community hatched a plot [not revealed to me 'till the wedding day] to club together and commission me to make them a much needed new table.
The resulting piece, designed to compliment their kitchen, includes one or two details that I kept secret until it was delivered: there's a little silver fish on the top, because the grain was just right and it seemed liked a good idea; the wedding date is carved on the side in great big numerals, because husbands sometimes need reminding and the leaping mackerel on the side rail is copied from the artwork that the bride had created for 'the big day' and had printed on her wedding dress…
...and if you look very closely you'll find a tiny heart I carved on it, because I'm a bit of a softy really.
After a long [we're talking years here] 'on off' courtship with a very old friend of mine the two were, finally, happily, married. Original presents for long established couples can be hard to find so their friends, and the local island community hatched a plot [not revealed to me 'till the wedding day] to club together and commission me to make them a much needed new table.
The resulting piece, designed to compliment their kitchen, includes one or two details that I kept secret until it was delivered: there's a little silver fish on the top, because the grain was just right and it seemed liked a good idea; the wedding date is carved on the side in great big numerals, because husbands sometimes need reminding and the leaping mackerel on the side rail is copied from the artwork that the bride had created for 'the big day' and had printed on her wedding dress…
...and if you look very closely you'll find a tiny heart I carved on it, because I'm a bit of a softy really.
