Collaboration One

Australian makers create the ultimate addition to any backyard shed


Collaboration One Tool Cabinet

Collaboration One Tool Cabinet

Collaboration One Tool Cabinet

The ultimate wood lovers’ fantasy, a set of 74 handmade tools, meticulously constructed by two of the world’s leading tool makers, and housed in a stunning display cabinet created by a Victorian fine furniture maker is expected to realise its price tag of $59,400.

‘Collaboration One’ was created by renowned Australian tool makers Terry Gordon of HNT Gordon and Colen Clenton, and fine furniture maker Phoebe Everill, who runs her School for Wood near Daylesford. Inspired by the work of master Russian/American cabinet maker James Krenov, Collaboration One cabinet is constructed from Tasmanian Sassafras with black heart inlay and wenge and ebony detail. The planes, gauges and squares by Gordon and Clenton, who routinely make for clients in Scandinavia, the US and the UK are fashioned from brass and matching ebony, from the same tree. The work, the ultimate collectors’ or wood workers must-have item, pays homage to Australian artisan perfectionism and skill, says Everill.

‘We believe this piece is unique to Australia and is extraordinary not only because it celebrates the art of making but also because it sits at the high end of the market, and says ‘our precision and workmanship in this country is that good’.’

The piece, which has taken hundreds of hours of work, has long been a dream of Gordon and Clenton, from NSW. The pair, both self-taught makers, also mould and fit all the brass work on their exquisite tools.

‘The attention to detail in a handmade tool ensures a life time of function,’ says Gordon. ’As a consequence, it is usually an object of beauty as well.’

The trio, who plan future collaborations, believe this work will be acquired by a museum, an avid collector or a passionate wood worker.

‘Sadly we are living in a world where hand made things are limited,’ says Gordon. ‘Objects such as this are highly valued not only because they are functional but also because they make us appreciate just how amazing Mother Nature is. And you’d be amazed how many people love making in their downtime.’

Clenton concurs.

‘We know a cardiovascular surgeon in Western Australia who is passionate about working with wood, and they are there, in every profession. This piece is be the ultimate addition to any backyard shed.’

 

Collaboration One, Sturt Australian Contemporary Design Centre, Range Road, Mittagong until March 10, 2016.  For more information, image or for interviews please contact Alex Fitch, Fitch Media alex@fitchmedia.com.au or 0488 992 791