Blog

I’m a qualified joiner with 35 years in business behind me – and more satisfied clients than I remember. I was born and bred in St Andrew’s, Fife – which is where I learned my trade. At 16 I started an apprenticeship with J L Paul in Cameron, St Andrews. Johnny Paul – the owner – taught me a number of very valuable lessons and instilled in me a sense of pride and ownership of my work that has remained ever since. He also taught me to value my tools – and I’m meticulous about ensuring they are clean, well maintained and where I can quickly find them.

When I was 21 – with my apprenticeship completed – I decided to head for London. I arrived at Victoria coach station with just my tools, a few clothes, and £35 in my pocket to pay for a hotel for the first week. I started working in the Reubens Hotel in Buckingham Palace Road. One job led to another and I was part of the team that completed the carpentry elements of a number of amazing projects at iconic venues including The Tate Gallery, The Old Bailey, The Bank of England and The Hyatt Hotel in Birmingham.

Then the recession struck – and I went looking for work in Germany, as did so many in my trade. I loved my five years there – and although my German is now a little rusty, I can still get the gist of most German conversations. As well as Germany, my passion for travel and exploration has also taken me to Australia, New Zealand, America and much of South East Asia as well as numerous European countries.

When I came back from Germany, I set up on my own as a self employed carpenter. I was fortunate to pick up a number of high profile private clients. By this stage my business was more than just carpentry – overseeing large building projects such as pub refurbishments, house extensions, attic conversions and any other domestic or small commercial renovations and alterations.

I am a Which Trusted Trader for my carpentry work – which I still undertake with my other business, 5 Ways Carpentry. And it’s not my biggest job, but one of the ones that’s most visible is the new door I installed at 221B Baker Street – best known as the abode of one Sherlock Holmes.

On one of my jobs, I met my current partner – Georgina – and with us both having lived over 30 years in London, we decided to move back to her homeland in Kent.

While I love the building game, my nearly 60-year old body does not! So I needed to find a new way to continue doing what I love best – giving people real pride and joy in the homes they live in. I’ve seen how the environment has become abused and I’ve watched people throwaway elements in their homes like basins, baths, floors and so on, just because there’s a small crack or chip. So I went looking for the solutions – and that led me to retrain (no mean feat at my age) and learn how to bring these things back to life in amazing ways.

If I sound like the sort of person you’d trust to breathe new life into the worn and torn parts of your house – give me a call. I promise you a professional, high quality job from a reliable and trustworthy tradesman from Fife.