Mark Horrocks

Mark Horrocks has been designing and making contemporary furniture to commission, from his workshop near the coast of West Wales for the past 28 years. He works entirely in native hardwoods such as sycamore, walnut, ash, oak, elm, holly and fruitwoods, buying trees locally and having them planked to his requirements. He prefers to use air-dried boards, chosen to suit each commission from his considerable stock, and carefully seasoned after years in his purpose built air-drying store.

His practice of leaving many of the joints and methods of construction exposed, illustrates the traditional way in which his furniture is made. It adds to the aesthetic interest and decorative quality of the pieces and reinforces the fact that integrity in construction need not be compromised by contemporary design. Steam-bent, laminated or sculptural curves feature prominently in his work.

Most of his pieces are designed specifically to reflect each commission, although a couple of designs are batch-produced. The majority of work is domestic, though ecclesiastical commissions appear frequently in his portfolio. In the Cardiff area there are three contemporary altars, a sedilia, an aumbry and two lecterns, for different denominations, a Tree of Life for a Synagogue and a suite of chapel furniture for St. David’s R.C. College.

He is a long standing member of the Makers Guild in Wales and his work can be seen on show in their prestigious, modern gallery, “Craft in the Bay” in Cardiff Bay.