Meet the judges for Maker of the Year 2026!
In 2026, the judging panel for Maker of the Year Awards, presented by Hare & Forbes, represents an incredible breadth of experience and connection to the field of fine woodworking and wood art. Collectively, they are makers, designers, artists and educators with years of study and practice behind them, all in more than one field.
Maker of the Year is Wood Review’s annual showcase for fine woodworking and wood art. The competition is open to woodworkers all over the world – amateur, pro and student. Entry is via www.makeroftheyear.com.au
The Top 100 shortlisted entries will feature in the December issue of Australian Wood Review. Award winners will be announced in this edition and here at www.woodreview.com.au In 2026, the $20,000+ prize pool includes $11,500 in cash awards.
Meet the Judges for Maker of the Year 2026
Rasmus Fenhann @fenhann furniture is a master designer and craftsman based Copenhagen. After training as a cabinetmaker in 1996, he graduated from The Danish Design School (now Royal Danish Academy – Design) in 2003. He has exhibited internationally, mainly in Europe and in the United States, and his works are included in important private and public collections, among them the permanent collection of Designmuseum Danmark.
His latest solo exhibition Off-cut Re-cut opens in September 2026 and features the Cosmos cabinet, a highly detailed work built over a two year period which Rasmus sees as a culmination of his 30 years as a cabinetmaker. The cabinet and other work will be featured in the September issue of Australian Wood Review magazine.
‘What will I be looking for? Is the design innovative, and what historical traditions does it draw on? Is the functionality good? Is the construction strong and designed in accordance with the properties of the material? Did the maker set interesting parameters and requirements for the design?’ – Rasmus Fenhann
Photo: Frederikke Brostrup
Laura McCusker @theladyinthewhiteute is an internationally acclaimed furniture designer maker based in Tasmania. Her work has featured regularly in Australian and international interior design publications and she has been the subject of a number of TV documentaries focusing on her studio practice.
Laura’s work has been commissioned locally by both the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and by MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) and has travelled as far as the US, UK and Europe. Her most recent commission for MONA includes work completed on its new Library Phrontisterion, spiral staircase and the librarian’s reception desk. Earlier in 2026, Laura was commissioned by Design Tasmania to produce Forest Stand, a piece which is now part of their permanent collection and featured at the exhibition Heartwood: Tasmanian Women in Timber. In Five Tools for Design she summarises her design principles. Laura was profiled in Australian Wood Review, issue 92.
‘In a competition like this…my advice would be to concentrate on one idea and do it well, remembering that often less is more. Be the Coco Chanel of wood design, “before you leave the house, look in the mirror and take one thing off.” I think the same should hold for object design.’ – Laura McCusker
Photo: Rosie Hastie
Bryan Cush @sawdustbureau is a former architect and furniture designer maker based in Ballarat. As a contemporary designer he believes that while furniture should provide function in a modern context it can also tell stories about the interests and influences of the maker and the people it is made for. He fuses his 15 years of studying and practising architecture around the globe with a passion for sculptural craft and local indigenous timbers.
Many of his bespoke creations and collaborations with other artists contain specific narratives. As an example, The Dish has an inlaid brass dot starmap which pinpoints the exact time of man's first steps on the moon in 1969 as seen from CSIRO Parkes Observatory.
Along with Robin Lewis and Joey Chalk, Bryan is a co-host of a long-running podcast for woodworkers and designers called ‘The Shop Stool’. Bryan Cush was profiled in Australian Wood Review magazine, issue 104. In the following issue he wrote about his design principles in Breaking the Golden Rule.
‘I look for furniture with a strong and authentic design language that celebrates the dialogue between material, form and function. The most memorable pieces continue to reveal themselves over time, inviting curiosity while communicating a story that extends beyond their immediate purpose.’ – Bryan Cush
Photo: Ray Edwards
Jono Everett @everett_creative is a furniture maker, artist and designer and co-manages the Soap Factory arts collective in Newcastle. Describing his work he says: ‘I guess in a nutshell my story is one of a varied approach to design and fabrication. I have passion for collaborative projects with galleries and museums and community projects. I make one-off furniture pieces for exhibitions and sculptures, take commissions, and manage a collective arts studio. I am running upskilling workshops to people who may be at some disadvantage, and working with people to re-establish their lives in disaster zones.’
Jono was profiled in Australian Wood Review, issue 123 and has written about his principles of design as applied to his Tuned Table. In AWR1327 Jono wrote about a large-scale collaborative project called Morphology that he co-directed with Hannah Cheetham, and in AWR#30 he wrote the differences between public and private commissions. Read about Jono’s most recent exhibition of wall art, Sacred. Coming up in August 2026, Jono will show The Quiet Room at Singleton Arts and Cultural Centre, an exhibition he regards as a culmination his last two years of work, creating art with rich narratives, focused on domestic life, through the use of salvaged roadside furniture.
“I’m all about design and originality. I see the difference between a good and a great piece is the strength of the concept and the clarity of its execution.” – Jono Everett
Photo: Edwina Richards
Kate Stehr @katestehr is an Australian sculptor who works primarily in wood and draws on her own firsthand research and experience to produce a diverse range of highly original works. She has degrees in fine art, education and creative art research and teaches Visual Arts at university.
Kate has exhibited her award-winning sculptures widely and undertaken international residencies. She says, ‘My approach has always been “thinking through making”. The act of making often reveals solutions and new directions. I’m also interested in challenging the idea that people are either “good” or “bad” at art. Like any skill, it develops through practice.’ Kate lives in the Illawarra, NSW and is profiled in the current issue of Australian Wood Review.
‘As a judge I will be looking for innovative use of the chosen timbers, creativity and individuality, and resolution of construction. I believe that successful works will evidence outstanding craftsmanship over showy finish.’ – Kate Stehr
Photo: Damien Cadwallen
Paul Barton @paulbarton_woodartist is a master craftsman known especially for the fluid lines of the impossibly thin-walled vessels he creates on the lathe. In particular, he points to the respect he has for his chosen medium. ‘As a biologist, I understand and appreciate the delicate ecosystem of the Australian native forests and would like to help preserve our national heritage, and help others to appreciate this beautiful, but limited, resource.’
His philosophy is simple; respect the material you work with. He highlights the natural defects that exist in all trees to varying degrees which give his pieces a natural organic look. He turns wood as it is part of his life, and he does not see that ever changing.
Paul has exhibited his work throughout Australia and was awarded the Tasmanian Premier’s Award for Excellence in Craft in 2023. He lives and works on the Bellarine Peninsula, Victoria and teaches regularly at craft events and collaborations in Australia and New Zealand.
For Maker of the Year Paul said, ‘The things I look for are well balanced form, clean lines, nice design and respect for the material, well executed technique, quality of finish – and overall, unique work that catches my eye in the first glance and leaves me wanting more of the artist’s work.’ – Paul Barton
Photo: Paul Barton
Enter Maker of the Year, presented by Hare & Forbes
