My Story So Far.........
My Story started in 1976 on a cold wet Autumn day in the North of England. As a child I was always building things out of Lego, cardboard, wood etc. When I left school I studied Art & Design at College & University where I was able to continue my passion for design especially in 3D form.
I arrived in New Zealand in 2005 with my suitcase and a passion to make this my home. In 2011 my partner & I purchased our forever home in Lower Hutt & we still live there with our 2 sons & Mr Patch (the cat). The house came with a small workshop which gave me the opportunity to rekindle my passion for design using wood as my medium.
The Valley Craftsman started as a Facebook page, blogging about the renovations, repairs & work I was doing around the house. My work colleagues at the time always asked me, “where do you see this going?” “Unsure lets see what happens” was my response.
Mr Patch was the inspiration for my first indoor furniture build, a simple cat scratching post. I purchased enough materials to make 2 so I decided to sell one to cover the cost. I was shocked when it sold within 24hrs. By investing the money back into my hobby I was able to make climbing frames, bigger scratching poles, even a cat castle.
As my family grew we started to need bedroom furniture. The problem we faced was not not being able to find a bed with good storage so I decided to make one. My eldest son still has it 8 years later. When I posted it on Facebook, people started asking me, “would you be able to make this for us?” “Yes” was always my answer.
Facebook was my main source of communication with the people of New Zealand, without this my small business would have just been a dream. Now I have an amazing variety of New Zealand made children’s & Pet furniture which are available to purchase on my full e-commerce website & Trade Me.
The Dream when I left school was to have my own business. The people of New Zealand have made my dream a reality. I would like to thank you all for your support over the years & look forward to working with you all in the future.
Thank you for your time
Valley Craftsman
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