I am originally from Canada, and worked as a carpenter in an open air museum, and latterly as an art gallery technician. I moved to the UK to study furniture design, making and restoration; first at Rycotewood College, Thame, Oxfordshire, and latterly at West Dean College, near Chichester. I have settled in a beautful part of England, North Yorkshire, near the Yorkshire Dales. I am an Institute of Conservation accredited Conservator/Restorer, and have extensive experience of conservation and restoration treatments to a wide range of furniture and furnishing objects. I make, and have for sale a variety of galleries across the United Kingdom, Shaker style trays, baskets, boxes and bowls. The Shakers were a Christian religious sect from England, who settled in North Eastern USA in 1774. The guiding Shaker principles of utility, humbleness, honesty, and simplicity, using locally available materials, had a profound effect on their crafts and design, on their homes, furniture, domestic items and lifestyle. Their gentle forms and elegance fit well in any interior, a calming influence and simple gift to us in our busy and complex lives. I make my boxes, trays, bowls and baskets using European and North American hardwoods; the sides are in solid wood, thinned down to make tight bends possible; the lid and bottom panels are veneered plywood, for greater durability. The wood is made pliable by soaking it in very hot water, and then bending it around a template. Copper tacks clinch the bands together, no glue. After insertion of the top and bottom panels, and smoothing of the wood, I finish the surfaces with lacquer, then with a clear, hard wax. Wood is an incredibly durable material, and with care these Shaker-inspired items could become a family heirloom, passed down the generations.