ABOUT

I have been a straw worker for 40 years. I’m from Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and have always lived around this area. What started as a hobby in 1983 soon became a large part of my life. As well as enjoying working with a beautiful, natural material I really enjoyed seeing the traditions
that my grandfather, a farm labourer in this area 100 years ago, had spoken about come to life.
 
I joined the Guild of Straw Craftsmen in 1989 and achieved my Craftsman Award with them in 1999. I am a founding member of the Scottish Straw Workers as well as a member of the National Association of Wheat Weavers and the California Straw Arts Guild in the US. 
 
After practicing and working on my skills for 5 or 6 years, I started attending local shows with my work and realised that other people were interested in what I was doing too. In the year 2000 Something Corny was established which has flourished year on year. I work from my studio in the heart of Aberdeenshire, it really is my happy place.
 
In the early days I made traditional Corn Dollies but as time went on, I started to develop my own patterns and designs and have tried to bring my work more up to date to appeal to customers of today. I firmly believe that we must remember where the craft came from, but it is so important to
push the craft forward if it is to continue into the future. My work is very varied, and I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing people. 
 
I have had so many wonderful and exciting clients over the years. The opportunity to work for some of the top fashion houses on pieces for their runway shows was a great experience. I have produced pieces for theatre and television and have also collaborated with other artists on work for
exhibitions. I have been lucky enough to work with Kirstie Allsopp both teaching at her Handmade Fair in London as well as having the cameras visit the workshop here in Scotland. Over the years I have appeared in many newspapers and magazines such as Elle Decoration and Landscape. I
regularly give talks and demonstrations on straw work, and I love sharing what I do with others.
 
One of my great passions is teaching and I am very keen to pass on these skills. I run workshops and courses regularly, both in person and online and have taught the craft here in the UK as well as in other countries. I have a YouTube channel which I want to do more with in the future, I am on social
media so you can keep up with new ideas and designs there and I have written two project-based books so far and am working on more to come.