Julian Usborne

Ever since winning a school carpentry prize, aged 12, Julian has been making and mending things.  This ranges from the construction of a green-oak-framed building to carving the neck of a violin or the stock of a shot gun. Some 15 years ago England’s premier green woodworker Mike Abbott was briefly living at Westley Farm, as was Rich Pirie (now teaching woodland skills at Ruskin Mill). Julian was inspired to follow their lead and began a five year binge of chair-making. Julian and Mike shared a chair exhibition at Ruskin Mill.