Description: Amazing single plank elm / burr elm coffee table with wonderful free edge to the elm. The top sits on a classic Tim Stead ‘Parthenon’ base.

This example was made by David Lightly and is signed to the underside. David worked alongside Tim Stead for 12 years until Tim died in 2000. He then ran ‘The Workshop of Tim Stead’ with Tim’s wife Maggy until she retired in 2012. David then bought the business and renamed it ‘The Wood Neuk’. He continues to work from Tim’s original workshop at ‘The Steading’ in Blainslie where, in addition to his own furniture and sculpture, he has the license to produce Tim’s furniture designs.

Dimensions: Width 140cm; Depth 75cm; Height 39cm.

Condition: Excellent original condition. Wonderful quality and detailing. Lovely rich colour and stunning grain pattern to the burr elm. Small imperfections in the wood are filled with a cold cast bronze.

Amazingly sculptural and tactile piece of furniture.

Designer: Tim Stead (1952-2000)

Biography: Tim Stead was a British sculptor and furniture maker. His furniture has a wonderful organic, sculptural quality and is incredibly tactile. His work shares a deep understanding and an underlying philosophy to that of George Nakashima - ‘The soul and spirit of the tree, and the dedication of the woodworker to his or her craft’, and a belief that a tree that has lived a good life deserves a second life as a beautiful and considered piece of furniture. For Tim, furniture and sculpture are part of the same conversation, there is no distinction. Sculpture is furniture, furniture is sculpture.

Like George Nakashima, Tim Stead respected the natural properties of the wood. Rather than discarding the edges, cracks and knots, traditionally considered imperfect, he preserved and highlighted them turning these features into the focal point of each piece, allowing the inherent beauty of the wood to speak for itself.

Tim Stead’s home ‘The Steading’ in the Scottish Borders is a total work of art - a complete, harmonious interior, fully furnished. In some respects it is the fulfilment of an artistic vision and a devotion to a life of creative exploration. In 2020 the house, interior, adjacent sawmill and workshop was designated Grade A Listed status by Historic Environment Scotland. The house and archive are now managed by the Tim Stead Trust.