As a young kid growing up in a neighbourhood dominated by adults, I spent most of my time doing some sort of creative activity … mostly drawing and painting. As I moved into my teens however, that activity started to include a lot more of making stuff. Model boats and aircraft were the main subjects of interest and I combined found materials with whatever I could convince my mother to buy for me to achieve results. Those early insights into creativity have stuck with me through the years and have come in handy in lots of endeavours.

As the last century drew to a close, I'd arrived at a crossroad in life and was looking for new career options. Time and again, I found myself turning back to those artistic roots. I started making some homewares objects and, in particular, cooking utensils for my own use in the home. Pretty much everybody I knew at the time loved the way I made them and wanted some. After giving plenty away, I realised that it might be time to build a business around my creative work.

The first utensil I made was an organically-inspired cooking stirrer ... which I now call the "Classic Stirrer". It was a very intuitional design drawn onto a piece of re-used floorboard and cut out and shaped … I knew what I wanted and didn't need to overdesign it … which, in my opinion is how great designs happen. I began to use that first rough prototype straight away and it did everything it was supposed to do. At the time, I had no intention of selling any of my creations … it was later when I realised making stuff was in my blood and it was time to get more serious about it.

So, the rest is now history. In 2001, I started my creative business which is now known as Gilmour Design. I began selling a wide range of handmade homewares and sculpture made from wood at local craft and artisans markets and also started selling some work online. The first Etsy shop for Gilmour Design was started in June 2008 and, back then, was named Forest Treasures.

Creative work and the business of creativity is always a work-in-progress … if it stops, then the creative spark is probably dead. Over the years since first committing to a business of designing and making, there have been plenty of changes and transitions in where I have concentrated my efforts. Along the way I've let products go that I no longer enjoy making in order to make room for new interests and I've always held the notion that it's important to be doing something I really like.

The thing that's never changed in this journey however, is my faith in the culture of handmade design and making. The lifestyle which revolves around this endeavour is rewarding and beneficial in an ever-quickening world. Slow living and being in-touch with the natural world is a conscious choice for me … one that I won't be changing any time soon.

Simple, Beautiful, Minimal.

Thank-you for visiting Gilmour Design.


Updated : April 18, 2021