A talented Orkney furniture designer is showcasing special pieces at two major exhibitions this September.
Kevin Gauld, who crafts his island-inspired tables, stools, mirrors and more as The Orkney Furniture Maker, has unique Orkney chairs on display in Edinburgh and Venice this month, alongside designs from some of the most talented creatives in the world.
His ‘Skila’ chair will be part of the Ash Rise exhibition at Edinburgh’s Royal Botanic Garden. Organised by the Scottish Furniture Makers Association, it features the work of 20 makers, artists and designers, who have all transformed pieces of Scottish ash into new pieces of furniture, art and design.
The exhibition aims to highlight the impact of ash dieback, a destructive fungus that causes leaf loss in ash trees. Hundreds of trees have perished or been felled in attempts to stop the spread of the disease.
All the pieces featured in Ash Rise have been made from diseased Scottish ash from a farm in Stirlingshire and it’s hoped the exhibition will celebrate the material and its potential, as well as raising awareness of the environmental and economic impact of ash dieback.
Kevin’s contribution is a unique Orkney chair named ‘Skila’ after the Old Norse word for shelter. Kevin used the curving properties of ash to shape the iconic Orkney hood on his chair – the Orkney chair was historically built to keep out draughts in cold crofts and provide shelter and comfort.
The chair also features straw from Kevin’s own oats, harvested by hand every autumn, as Orcadian crofters used to do generations ago. For Kevin, Ash Rise carries an important message. “Ash Rise is such an important event. It's raising awareness about the devastating impact that ash dieback is having in the UK, whilst also ensuring that it lives on as something new and beautiful.
“By bringing together and highlighting new work by creatives from throughout Scotland, beautiful, never seen before pieces are being design and created instead of this timber ending up as firewood or going into landfill.”
Ash Rise opens on 13 September in Edinburgh before moving on to Dumfries and Inverness.
Another of Kevin’s creations is currently on show in Venice as part of the biennial Homo Faber exhibition. This prestigious event brings together some of the best international craft makers with immersive displays focused on a journey through human life, viewed through the lens of craftmanship.
Kevin’s Orkney chair is one of more than 800 pieces at Homo Faber and is part of the ‘nature’ section of the exhibition. It was made from an elm tree blown down during a storm in the Willows in Kirkwall, with a straw back handstitched using straw from Kevin’s own land next door to his workshop on the outskirts of the town.
Kevin says he’s proud to be able to bring an Orkney chair to such a global event. “I was honoured to be invited to exhibit at Homo Faber 2024. It's great to showcase an Orkney chair to an international audience at one of the best craft exhibitions in the world, and it will really help promote these unique straw-backed chairs that are made in Orkney.
“Both pieces that we are exhibiting have been made possible thanks to my highly skilled team who work alongside me.”
Homo Faber runs until the end of September at the Fondazione Giorgio Cini.
Visit the official The Orkney Furniture Maker website