About
I left school at the age of 16 with a clear objective, I wanted to work within a creative environment making interesting useful products, I also wanted everyday to be different!
I wrote a few letters to local companies searching out an opportunity for work experience during my school holidays. I got lucky with a local construction company that had a significantly large Joinery workshop and sawmill. The week was creative and gave me a clear understanding of what to expect from this industry. My enthusiasm and interest clearly made an impact on the Joinery Manager and at the end of the week he offered me a 3 year joinery apprenticeship. I learnt traditional hand skills with all the associated tools and how to maintain a sharp edge, I also completed my City & Guilds exams and became a very competent tradesperson.
I soon moved away from the workshop environment and started my own commercial journey where I spent time travelling around the country working on building exhibition stands, shop fitting and site fixing on a variety of different construction projects.
An opportunity came my way to become a project manager and it was during these years that I learnt new skills such as estimating, pricing and refining my communication and negotiating abilities. Drawings and schedules became part of my role and I signed up for evening classes in CAD (Computer Aided Design) where I followed a recognised City & Guilds syllabus for AutoCAD in this new topic.
This opportunity put me back in the creative driving seat once again!
My passion for boating has always been intertwined with an admiration for the elegance that each vessel represents—a delicate balance of art and engineering. Little did I know that my journey into this captivating world would lead me deep into the heart of marine manufacturing, where creativity meets precision. I worked in a boatyard for a number of years where I implemented 3D CAD software to drive product development. Marine manufacturing environment is filled with curves and angles and benefits well from flexible 3D software. Whilst working at the boat yard I interacted with European manufacturers developing and project managing new furniture ranges.
Success
For me, success is about completing a project with the minimum amount of disruption for the client as possible. This can only be achieved through regular communication. No project is ever straightforward as the number of participants increases, but I do endeavour to make communication one of my top priorities. From time to time, errors may occur and therefore transparency in the way we overcome situations is important in building long term relationships.
