Robert Parker Medium Cheese Board

 This heart shaped medium cheese board is made from spalted beech and measures 23 x 21 cm and is made by Robert Parker.

Robert trained as an engineer at Sheffield Hallam University after completing a mechanical engineering apprenticeship qualifying as a turner.

After 16 years in management, in the food industry, an increasing passion for wood led, in 1998, to accepting an offer of redundancy to embark on a solo career.

The interest in wood came as a result of making wooden toys for his children. The quest for more interesting material led to collecting English hardwoods and has become an obsession.

The current collection includes – Apple, Alder, Acacia, Sycamore, Beech, Hazel, Rhododendron, Elm, Oak, Walnut, Pear, Cherry, Holly, Laburnum, Eucalyptus, Lilac, Box, Berberis, Plum, Laurel, Cotoneaster, Willow, Poplar, Mulberry, Yew, Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Douglas Fir, Maple etc.

With such a wide range of interesting material available locally, there is no need to use imported timber.

Predominantly making turned work, as well as freeform carving, furniture and mirrors other items being produced are fruit bowls, salad servers, domestic ware, hollow forms, natural edge work, platters, vases etc.

He is based near Chard, Somerset.