Meet The Maker
A little look at Hampshire furniture-designer maker David Stephenson
Originally from Kingston upon Thames in London, David Stephenson has over 14 years experience working in the wood industry along with a life-long passion for working with timber
Furniture maker David Stephenson in his natural habitat... his Hampshire workshop!
The first seeds were sown early in his childhood from his initial discovery and exploration of tools and wood. This germinated into early signs of entrepreneurship when in his early teens he began making and selling simple items such as candle-holders and bird-boxes to members of the public. On leaving school at 16 he went straight into a joinery apprenticeship with an established business in Kingston upon Thames; he also attended The Building Crafts College in London, run by the Worshipful Company of Carpenters.
David then spent time in Sussex, continuing his quest for knowledge and experience by receiving tuition in furniture making from John Lloyd. At the same time, he gained additional experience by volunteering at the Bluebell Railway, working in the carriage & wagon workshops restoring vintage railway carriages.
In 2008 David began undertaking freelance commissioned work, and in 2009 at the age of 20, he left London and moved down to Weyhill just outside Andover near the Hampshire Wiltshire border where he achieved his life-long goal of establishing his own workshop and business in the countryside. In 2014, David celebrated his fifth year in business, with a growing reputation for high quality work and dedicated personal customer service with private and commercial clients both from the local Hampshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire community's and across the UK.
David is also passionate about encouraging people to experience the joys of working with wood: by working with local schools he has given young students the opportunity to gain work experience. This has proved to be extremely enjoyable leading to the introduction in 2015 of private one-to-one weekend tuition for beginners and hobbyists.
In late 2016 after 2 years of tweaking and development David began launching a micro brand called Stable Furniture.
The idea is to design and produce a small standardised range of simple, sustainable and affordable furniture to encourage more people to buy local, handmade work which will last a lifetime, unlike most large scale mass produced factory items which last only a few years.
Stable furniture is available direct from the workshop and now online via the brand new online shop.
David then spent time in Sussex, continuing his quest for knowledge and experience by receiving tuition in furniture making from John Lloyd. At the same time, he gained additional experience by volunteering at the Bluebell Railway, working in the carriage & wagon workshops restoring vintage railway carriages.
In 2008 David began undertaking freelance commissioned work, and in 2009 at the age of 20, he left London and moved down to Weyhill just outside Andover near the Hampshire Wiltshire border where he achieved his life-long goal of establishing his own workshop and business in the countryside. In 2014, David celebrated his fifth year in business, with a growing reputation for high quality work and dedicated personal customer service with private and commercial clients both from the local Hampshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire community's and across the UK.
David is also passionate about encouraging people to experience the joys of working with wood: by working with local schools he has given young students the opportunity to gain work experience. This has proved to be extremely enjoyable leading to the introduction in 2015 of private one-to-one weekend tuition for beginners and hobbyists.
In late 2016 after 2 years of tweaking and development David began launching a micro brand called Stable Furniture.
The idea is to design and produce a small standardised range of simple, sustainable and affordable furniture to encourage more people to buy local, handmade work which will last a lifetime, unlike most large scale mass produced factory items which last only a few years.
Stable furniture is available direct from the workshop and now online via the brand new online shop.