My story
|
Rheece Mills grew up on a pig farm on the beautiful shores of Southdown farm in Devon. Some of you may have also walked the coastal path to Soar Mill Cove and witnessed the rugged and stunning views. Here, Rheece found his love of woodwork, up-cycling driftwood and re purposed wood into beautiful wine racks, tables, bed frames and even a barbecue. You name it, Rheece has probably built it from something he's found on the beach.
After finding a broken public footpath sign about to be burnt, he sanded it down, added coat hangers and hung it from a wall as a gift to his parents. After many commissions from friends and family, he decided to dedicate his time to his passion and this is where Grain Designs was born. Grain designs has come a long way since then, the product range has grown and the workshop is now fully equipped. The wood is dried in the workshop meaning new orders can be started immediately. Rheece is constantly coming up with new ideas and designs so keep checking in on our product range. |
Family influence
"From a young age my Grandad Nick Pitts taught me the basics of wood work. We made chestnut bowls, yew table matts and even a big oak snail with a moving shell. His workshop has lathes, thicknessers, table saws, chops saws, belt sanders and belt saws. It was a magical place for 12 year old me.
We spent hours in the workshop learning how to turn pens, plates an bowls and in the process I also learnt the power of a strong wood glue. A lot of my appreciation for the trees and woodlands came from my Grandad. We planted thick hedges covered by trees around his farm, we also planted a little woodland for the wild birds to nest in.
Every year we would drive down to the River Erme and clean out all of the trapped trees, netting, plastic and even a washed down hot tub. Since starting Grain Designs Nick has been bombarded with woodwork questions and has helped me set up the processes for building my coat racks. Thank you Grandad! "
We spent hours in the workshop learning how to turn pens, plates an bowls and in the process I also learnt the power of a strong wood glue. A lot of my appreciation for the trees and woodlands came from my Grandad. We planted thick hedges covered by trees around his farm, we also planted a little woodland for the wild birds to nest in.
Every year we would drive down to the River Erme and clean out all of the trapped trees, netting, plastic and even a washed down hot tub. Since starting Grain Designs Nick has been bombarded with woodwork questions and has helped me set up the processes for building my coat racks. Thank you Grandad! "
The building process
|
Firstly the wood is cut and planed from specially selected and locally sourced Oak at a nearby family run sawmill.
The wood is then taken back to Rheece's workshop where he cuts everything to the right dimensions and cuts a precise mortise in the posts. Once an order comes through Rheece uses a hand held router to carve the letters which are then painted. After the paint dries the sign is taken through 3 stages of sanding to get a really smooth finish that shows off the natural oak grain. The coat hanger is then sponge painted using a homemade secret paint that opens up the grain and gives the wood that rustic aged look. The hooks are bent into shape by Rheece using a hammer and anvil and then secured into the sign. Dowels are driven through the sign to keep everything strong and solid, only two screws are used in the whole coat hanger and they are provided for you to fix it to the wall. |