Shieldbrook Sculpture Garden - Artist Profile

Jake was born into the industrial West Midlands, an environment where design and manufacture were the norm. Just about every man he knew was involved in creating goods: from plastic novelties for cereal boxes to the fuel systems on Concorde. This culture affected home life too. If you needed something, wherever possible, you made it yourself. At 8 years of age it was a go cart, at 11 a bicycle from bits in a box, at 13 a wooden framed canoe, at 17 full restoration of a Morris 1000. This fed into a lifelong series of projects requiring construction of one sort or another, latterly, his own house.

It is not wholly surprising that this apprenticeship underpins Jake's business. The majority of what he does is bespoke. Someone needs a door, a window seat, a tree house, a kitchen table, a repair to an existing piece, if he has the resources to do it, he will. In addition he makes individual pieces of furniture in his unique style. Every maker has his signature in his work and Jake's pieces are often described as simple, solid and honest.

The furniture woods of choice are oak, ash and chestnut, all grown in Herefordshire, but naturally the project will dictate otherwise on occasions. Hazel hurdles and arches are produced in the winter. Outdoor constructions usually invoke home-ground larch.

Very little of what he does can be categorised as purely ornamental, but by default everything he makes has an ornamental value in addition to a practical use. He derives great pleasure and satisfaction from being told “0h that's lovely, just what I wanted”.

Jake is chairman of the Guild of Herefordshire Craftsmen, and joins them in exhibitions of work throughout the year. He teaches pole lathing and hurdle making for the Herefordshire Nature Trust and attends several other country shows where he demonstrates woodworking skiffs.

Artist Profile - Jake Keogh

Contact Info