About Marcus: Making, designing and repairing furniture is my passion as well as my livelihood! My initial training was in boatbuilding, at the famous International Boatbuilding Training College (IBTC) in Lowestoft. Here I learnt traditional woodworking skills and a respect for work that is strong, beautiful, and fit for purpose - qualities which I still integrate into everything I make.
I worked on boats for a while but soon realised that I wanted to put my interest in design to practical use alongside my woodworking skills! I moved to 'Wood Glorious Wood', a shared cabinet makers workshop in North Devon. Here I worked alongside skilled furniture makers from different backgrounds. This gave me the grounding I needed to set up my own workshop in Wales where I lived and worked for several years.
In 2011 I moved into a shared workshop space in Midhurst with my partner Marysa, who is a bookbinder. As a result, we are now also able to offer gorgeous wooden-bound books that combine the best of the cabinet making and bookbinding traditions.
I have a particular interest in the furniture and architecture of the Arts and Crafts movement, in Shaker furniture, and in the English vernacular woodworking traditions. When not working wood I enjoy playing the piano, and sailing – in wooden boats, naturally!
"How we heard about Marcus is a tale involving coincidence, luck and serendipity . . . always a good start to the wonderfully exciting process of commissioning a maker to produce something specially for us. I had long had in mind the concept of a piece of furniture that combined the roles of table, bookcase and display cabinet. Marcus was immediately a fan of the basic concept which was swiftly changed from a scribble on the back of an envelope to a design of great beauty. This, combined with Marcus knowing the whereabouts of some English Elm (which had been quietly sleeping in a barn since before the advent of Dutch Elm Disease) and (just by way of examples) his tireless quest for perfection in the construction of an (invisible) joint, the slight rounding of the top frame with aspokeshave (making it more of a sculpture than a piece of furniture) and the careful application of the Milk Paint all combined to enable him to produce a piece of great beauty. We loved the whole process and envy anyone who comes upon Marcus in the way that we did! What can we get him to make for us next?" Nicolas and Francis McDowal