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Ronald Emett, MBE BSc MSDC

Altar in oak and bog oak, St Mary's Church, Beaminster, Dorset In 1990, I moved to the lovely little town of Beaminster in West Dorset to learn the art and the craft of furniture making at Parnham College.The years at Parnham were a profound influence, enabling me to open a workshop and gallery in 1993. The Ronald Emett Gallery in Beaminster Square sold work by many local artists and craftspeople, as well as providing a platform for my own work.

Choir director's music stand in walnut and sycamore, Guildford Cathedral, Surrey As designers and craftsmen, the English have always been rather good at adopting foreign influences (both contemporary and antique) and from them making something fresh and new. It happened during the late Medieval period, during the English Renaissance of the late 17th century and then again in the second half of the 20th century. This is the path I find myself following as I explore ways of producing fine furniture relevant to the 21st century, yet still respectful of its historical antecedents.

From early childhood I have felt at home in the ecclesiastical environment. My lifelong interest in church architecture and furnishings has led me towards making church furniture, particularly at first for my own church (St Mary, Beaminster, in West Dorset) and later across the whole of the South of England, including five pieces in Guildford Cathedral, Surrey.

My home is in Broadwindsor, a few miles to the west of Beaminster. When not busy making furniture or spending time with my family, I enjoy helping to run the annual Beaminster Festival, and indulge my passion for 'West Gallery' music by directing the Beaminster Gallery Quire.

Beaminster Gallery Quire