Charles and Ray Eames would be proud. The American design dream team who experimented with wood, bending and sculpting it into new forms for their furniture, couldn’t have imagined that an Aberdonian student’s final university project would be inspired by their pioneering work – or that it would lead to a rather niche cottage industry that’s putting the little Perthshire village of Birnam on the map.
Jamie Kunka studied product design at Dundee University but he reckons it was his childhood love for Lego and messing about with K’nex (a toy for older kids, where plastic rods can be connected to make new structures) that steered him along the path towards making high-performance and beautiful wooden skis. By the time he was a young teenager, he’d picked up woodworking tools and was making all sorts – including longbows. “I’d seen Ray Mears make a pair of skis from a fallen pine tree in the forest, with a Swedish maker,” laughs Kunka. “And making longbows taught me a lot about the bendy and springy properties of wood, which was really useful when I started making skis.”
Denne historien er fra March - April 2020-utgaven av Homes & Interiors Scotland.
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Denne historien er fra March - April 2020-utgaven av Homes & Interiors Scotland.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Escape BOATH HOUSE
An inspirational Georgian manor house in the north-east offers sanctuary to artists, poets and the curious of spirit
Escape THE LOOKOUT
Sun-drenched interiors, right on the beach - it's hard to believe this is Scotland
"It still feels like home. Just nicer"
The owners of this house in Edinburgh didn't intend to give it a complete makeover, but once they started they just couldn't stop
A SCOTTISH LOVE STORY
You need passion to persevere through a lengthy restoration project. Thankfully for this rambling old lodge in Highland Perthshire, its new owners were already head over heels
CLEAN AND POLISH
Ten years in the making, this one-time dental surgery in Portobello has been reshaped as an elegant, practical family home
MEET THE MAKER RACHEL MACLELLAN
You might think the process is purely creative, but designing knitted textiles requires a deep understanding of geometry and pattern calculations. It is intricate and often mathematical. I have learned that knitting demands a constant balance between artistry and engineering. Creating a new textile involves not only selecting colours and yarns but also considering the tensile strength, elasticity and drape of the material. That way, I ensure the final product is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. To me, this blend of creativity and technical precision is a fascinating aspect of knitted textile design.
IN THE KITCHEN AT PARTIES
It's all in the details for this slick and multifunctional entertainment space
JUST A HINT OF PINK
This family-orientated Georgian kitchen gets an upgrade in both footprint and finish
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Beauty and the best of Scotland on the shores of Loch Ness
LAURA THOMAS
The environmentalist has become a very successful entrepreneur whose products are stocked by Scotland's best hotels