The woods to me as a child were always a place of adventure, to escape your parents and the adult world, make dens, live adventures and imagine ancient stories. To generally run wild.  

Woodland are, as a whole, places that have been managed, worked and looked after for millennia. If we take from them it should be done responsibly and with care.  What draws me to the woods now is similar to what drew me as a child, a place that has been unspoiled by us - relatively speaking, a place that transcends, and speaks to an ancient past in which we can realise a sense of our more authentic human existence.

I discovered my craft later in life, it was a form of escapism and an antidote to the industry that I was working in at the time. What it gives to me now is a deep appreciation for its history, for its material source, for what can be overlooked and undervalued, yet it endures, and continues to play a vital role in the use of modern interior architecture and design.

Seven years on I created Bennett & Co Studio to be a part of the conversation we have around consumerism and globalisation, to play a part in developing a response to the consumer led culture we all follow. 

To create objects responsibly for a world that is saturated, means we should have a justification for it, now more so than ever.  A justification for the materials that we use, where they are sourced, the process in how a piece is constructed, how long will it have a use.   It’s not revelatory thinking, but I believe if more people took this approach, perhaps began making themselves - whatever it may be, we might end up in a world that uses less energy, less non-biodegradable material, has more creativity and variety and in the end bestow upon ourselves a life with greater purpose.