English Master Furniture Maker Takes His Craft to Japan

English Master Craftsman David Savage is invited by Kodansha Publishers to assist them in launch of their new book on the importance of hand skills to a modern world. When he is not jet setting you could join David at his Studios in Devon England on one week Masterclasses.

Mad furniture master craftsman David Savage of www.finefurnituremaker.com is very popular in Japan these days. This photo shows a rare shot of the old man actually doing some work. These days he is too busy to polish tables as he is traveling the world promoting the British hand craftsmanship he so passionately believes in. This time it is Japan where a Japanese publisher Kodansha selected Davids workshop to represent the recent British influence on Japanese culture.

"They are very concerned that with the modern manufacturing ethos their culture is being robbed of something valuable, the touch of the human being evident in hand made artifacts." said David. "In many ways they are ahead of us for they already have a higher sense of the value of what hand made is. They know that craftsmen and women cannot produce perfect surfaces or objects, they understand that what is exciting is the struggle of the skilled human being wanting to make the object a beautifully as he or she can, but knowing they are doomed to imperfection. It is the struggle that demonstrated the humanity."

When he is not jet setting you could join David and spend a week at Rowden Farm Workshops in Devon this summer. David is running for a limited time a series of one week Masterclasses. These have been developed to encourage absolute beginners and slightly more advanced woodworkers to spend a week in an atmosphere where woodworking excellance is the stuff of life.

"Rowden Workshops is an amazing place" said David "The energy is incredible, these people achieve in such a short time better results than people on three year degree programmes they are so focused and dedicated. " Up to a dozen people come at considerable expense to spend a year with David and his small team of craftsmen. The idea is not so much a school as an Atalier " It is based upon a medieval concept" said David " The Atalier in Renaissance Italy would have had a Master, skilled artisans, journeymen, improvers and apprentices. We do our work and we also show others how to do go about it, everyone is learning at different levels at different speeds from different people. Students come here often in mid life after a successfull career, but they want to change direction to do something tangable, something of quality, something more creative. We can also sometimes learn as much from them as we teach them."

The One Week Master Classes would give three people an opportunity to spend a week with David Savage and join in the creative atmosphere that is Rowden. This would mean listening in to the tea break "Dimbelby Lectures", access to the life drawing or design classes and also the opportunity to help make the tea. For details of availability of places call Margaret Hassett on (0044) (0)1409 281 579.

Several classes are being run this summer places are limited to three per class so if you are interested it is essential to contact Margaret soon. More course info is available at the website and following the links TO SHORT COURSES http://www.finefurnituremaker.com/short_courses.htm .