The Heavy Life

Furniture made by hand in a small workshop on the Bellarine. Classical Chinese joinery, marquetry, parquetry — in Australian timbers, made the way it's worth making, or not at all. Writing about every joint, every jig, every failure and every success.


Start Here

Three ways in. The manifesto if you want the argument. An essay if you want the thinking. A Bench Mark if you want to see what's on the bench.


Latest

Dispatch: Exhibition, Glue Failure and Decisions Decisions Decisions

Tomorrow is the opening for The Hive Gallery's timber exhibition. If anyone is in the region and wants to talk about the finer points of ebony vs buloke as shachi-sen keys in glueless hardwood joinery, over a free

5 June 2026 · 3 min read min read

Dispatch: Exhibition, Glue Failure and Decisions Decisions Decisions Dispatch: Exhibition, Glue Failure and Decisions Decisions Decisions Brush Notes: Glue Failure Brush Notes: Glue Failure
The first time a chisel bit into a piece of timber the lie of the digital world was exposed.
Read the manifesto →

Bench Mark

Deep workshop writing on Chinese joinery, marquetry, furniture design, and the pieces I'm building.
Bench Mark: So What the Heck Is an Àn Table, Anyway?
15 May 2026 · 6 min read min read
Bench Mark: Eight Millimetres
17 Apr 2026 · 3 min read min read

Essays

Longer pieces on whatever's on my mind. Sometimes the workshop, often not.
Essay: Why the Way We Make Things Matters
2 Jun 2026 · 17 min read min read
Essay: The Anova Paradox
31 Mar 2026 · 7 min read min read
Essay: On Camping
13 Mar 2026 · 3 min read min read

Dispatches

Weekly letters from the workshop.
Dispatch: Exhibition, Glue Failure and Decisions Decisions Decisions
5 Jun 2026
Dispatch: The $32 vacuum press (sort of).
29 May 2026
Dispatch: Haul Ass?
22 May 2026

Brush Notes

Quick notes from the bench. Short, unpolished, honest.

Stay close to the work