Private: Tristan Appleby
Project Manager
Joined Carpenter Oak: 2007
Interview with Tristan
What is the best project you have worked on and why?
Bachelor. I built the frame and the spiral stairs. It took almost a year of my life but it is an amazing house.
When not in the yard, what do you enjoy doing?
Reading, snooker, socialising, fishing (I have a boat) and did I mention I have a boat?
If stranded on a desert island which three people would you take and why?
Bill Bailey to keep me amused, Keith Floyd to keep me well fed and amused and Ray Mears (Someone has to find the food!!!)
Which three people would be in your dream carpentry team and why?
Salvador Dali for design, John Brown who is an amazing chair maker (so good with wood) and Isambard Kingdom Brunel, lets see how good you are with wood!
Biography
I am here in Devon working for Carpenter Oak as a conscious life style choice, having lived in the south east for ten years working as a carpenter, and later a framer. When the chance came up to re-locate and work for Carpenter Oak I jumped at it, the opportunity to build really good structures (there are frames and then there are Frames!) to live so close to the coast, the river Dart, Dartmoor and the more relaxed approach to life we have here in Devon was too good to miss. The thing I like most about the company is the amazing amount of knowledge and experience contained within it which has both allowed me to grow and flourish as a framer. As I said before I am still loving the life!
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Thorsten Busse
Senior Carpenter
Joined Carpenter Oak: 1996
Interview with Thorsten
What is the best project you have worked on and why?
Nags Head in Hargrave, North Hants, 2006. We built an extension to this 15th Century pub built in harmony with the original building and using huge pieces of timber. It was a highly satisfying job building such an old fashioned frame.
When not in the yard, what do you enjoy doing?
Being leisurely.
Biography
Thorsten completed a traditional apprenticeship as a Journeyman in Germany, he then relocated to Devon and became a self-employed carpenter/ timber framer for a few years. When Carpenter Oak relocated to their current dwellings, Thorsten was asked to complete a couple of frames with them and then became one of the very first employed carpenters in the spring of 1996. Thorsten has always been into carpentry, he has fond memories of his childhood days, always with a knife in hand to do a bit of whittling with whatever wood he could find, he enjoys working hands on with amazing material, and working in a traditional way. This brings about a general feeling of happiness and satisfaction within the job. He is really happy to be working at Carpenter Oak with great and extremely skilled people, that’s what makes the job: running big jobs with great people who all share a passion for building beautiful structures out of natural materials.
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Muna Sono
Team Leader
Joined Carpenter Oak: 2013
Interview with Muna
What music are you currently listening to in the workshop?
Stormzy, Bonobo, The Black Seeds, El Michels Affair, Midnite, Boris Brejcha…
When not in the yard, what do you enjoy doing?
Brazilian Jiujitsu!
If stranded on a desert island which three people would you take and why?
Bob Marley for positive vibrations, Hermes Trismagistus for the knowledge and wisdom he could share and Bill Hicks for people conscious comedy.
Biography
I graduated from university with a degree in politics with economics and was preparing, like so many of my peers, to begin a finance-based career in the city. However I experienced a synchronistic chain of events, which would culminate in a major shift in my world view and send me down a path of self discovery. I spent the next two years helping teach bread making at a cooking school and working as a chef. All the while I was absorbing vast amounts of material on the esoteric, the occult, spirituality, consciousness and philosophy. Whilst volunteering at Embercombe, a social enterprise in Devon, I did some carpentry for the first time since school and felt a deep connection to the craft. After this I knew I wanted to make a profession of woodworking but was unsure how. I spent some time helping Mike Abbot run green wood chair making courses and discovered timber framing, this was a eureka moment, I knew I was going to be a timber frame carpenter. After completing an apprenticeship in site carpentry, I was offered a position to train with Carpenter Oak. I feel blessed to be working with highly skilled, capable people with enormous amounts of experience. It feels fantastic to have found my path, creating incredible frames with wonderful people.
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Iain Stevenson
Carpenter
Joined Carpenter Oak: 2018
At the age of 20 I went on a carpentry training course, allowing me to be self employed for 30 years before moving to Carpenter Oak in 2007.
Interview with Iain
What is the best project you have worked on and why?
Brixton Department Store – everything about the project was awesome and the end result was one of a kind.
When not in the yard, what do you enjoy doing?
Listening to music and cooking
If stranded on a desert island, which three people would you take and why?
Jack Dee for obvious reasons, myself to build shelter and Bear Grylls to do the hunting for food.
Which three people would be in your dream Carpentry team and why?
Jesus (he was a carpenter!) Noah (he built and ark so probably pretty good) and Tommy Walsh from Grand Force
What is the most embarrassing job you’ve ever had?
Delivery driver
What music do you listen to?
Rock, reggae and blues
What is the best comedy film ever made?
The Guard
What do you enjoy most about working with oak/wood?
Job satisfaction
Where is your favourite place in the world?
My garden
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