Richard Lovell: “Good design is rarely original.”

Above: TAFE NSW students with cardboard prototypes of their major Cert IV chair project. From left to right: Atheera Jacobs, Sophie David, Marcella Mavroski, Richard Lovell, Ruby Pike and Eddie Richards. Photo: Georgina Donovan

Maker of the Year, presented by Carbatec, is a competition for all makers, amateur, professional and student, and showcases the wonderful things they make from wood. In 2025 we present a series of interviews with some of our entrants.

Richard Lovell’s life took a complete turn when he took up woodworking. We were curious to hear his story...

Q: What got you started on the woodworking path? Why did you decide to go further?
It started with collecting – things like an Alrob chest of drawers and a Snelling rocking chair. I started to develop an interest in their histories and how they work.

Later, I made a side table at a community workshop, and helped design a sideboard with my housemate that we CNC’d and assembled in our living room. That was my platform for thinking more seriously about functional objects.

I quit my job in law not long after to pursue a career in design. Now, after completing a Cert IV at TAFE NSW, I am studying a Master of Architecture in Melbourne.

Group shot of Richard Lovell’s work completed at TAFE NSW. Photo: Justin Nacua

Q: What does the TAFE NSW course take in? How long does it go for?
The Cert IV in Furniture Design and Manufacturing combines design (sketching, CAD, design history etc) with hands-on manufacturing and material knowledge. It runs for eight months at the Lidcombe campus and 12 months at Coffs Harbour.

Q: Can you tell us a little about the course?
You start with hand tools and sketching, then move onto design history, basic CAD, and machine work. The second half is project-based – a cabinet, an accessory, then a chair developed from sketch to full-scale prototype. There’s an exhibition at the end. The teachers are all working designers, and the workshop that you get to access and use for your projects is excellent.

Developing ideas with architectural models. Photo: Richard Lovell

Q: Are there hands-on components to your architecture study that relate to furniture design?
Thankfully, yes. The University of Melbourne has a well-equipped workshop for timber, metal, and other materials, which students are encouraged to use. I’ve fabricated a range of models there, including one shown here – made from wood offcuts and rusted mild steel, in collaboration with fellow students Menucha Tatarka, Anureet Kaur Sodhi, and Kevin Wang. We designed and built it as part of a studio project focused on an 8-pack apartment building, with the Hutong typology in China as our key precedent.

There are also construction-based subjects with a strong hands-on focus. One project involved building a series of concrete and timber bench seats on site at Cummeragunja, on the border of Victoria and New South Wales. The course also offers electives in furniture design and making, which I plan to take.

In terms of the degree itself, it’s a three-year Master of Architecture structured for students from non-architecture backgrounds. It begins with an intensive foundation year, followed by two years integrated into the standard master’s stream.

Q: Do you see any parallels in your former career in law with your current design and making work and study?
Definitely. In law, you begin by analysing precedent and then critically applying it to the facts. My design process, whether in architecture or furniture, is remarkably similar. I start by gathering and studying a set of references: existing designs or observed things that resonate with me and feel relevant to the brief. From there, I critically apply and adapt them to the design at hand.

I’ve found that most design grows out of what we’ve already seen or experienced – through books, physical objects, materials, or just everyday encounters. It’s rarely about inventing from scratch. I think there’s value in openly referencing other work and engaging closely with it. For me, a key part of the process is unpacking my own preferences – why does that form work in this context? Why was that joint used there? This approach has helped me develop my sensibility.

My legal background has trained me to engage in this process with care and rigour, and to think about how each detail sits within the whole. I’m still early in my design career and have a lot to learn, but I think it gives me a solid foundation to build on.

Jut Chair, from cardboard prototype to finished piece. In-progress photos: Richard Lovell, finished views by Justin Nacua

Q: What are your main design influences?
My design influences are varied and constantly changing. It could be a detail from an old chair or building, a manufacturing process, a particular material or even something I observe, be it human-made or natural. I am also influenced by a wide range of designers and artists.  The Jut Chair started with the angles and low-profile of a Usonian chair by Frank Lloyd Wright. With wooden objects, I tend to consider the timber species, composition and joinery together from the outset.

Q: What’s your style as a maker...what do like and what do you aim for in your work?
Minimal design with an emphasis on experimentation and surprise. I like a range of styles, even when they contradict – I might be drawn to the elegance and precision of one piece, and the rough, rudimentary nature of another. I aim to incorporate these tensions into my work. I’d say what stays constant is a respect and admiration of materials, I rarely apply stains to timber and love to show rather than hide how a piece is held together. In terms of composition and form, I aim for simplicity, but I also want to keep experimenting with processes and materials.

Corridor Cabinet (full view and detail), made during Cert IV study at TAFE NSW. Photos: Richard Lovell

Q: Who are your woodworking heroes/gods/gurus (and why)?

• Studio COM, a Seoul-based studio. I visited their studio last year and really admire their playful but rigorous approach. Their work shifts – sometimes it pulls from comic books, other times it is restrained and minimal. Their work has allowed me to think more freely about what furniture can be.
• Dean Edmonds, a London-based designer maker. I love how Dean repurposes ready-made materials and the roughness of his finishes. I particularly like his Donut Stool. His work was the impetus for me to learn about and work with metal.
• Pierre Chapo – a French furniture designer maker. I love the weight of his pieces and the artistic quality of his joints. I am obsessed with the Sahara S10 Lounge Chair.
• Toshiki Yagisawa – a Japanese artist and designer. I recently came across his experimental work, especially the Phantom exhibition – wooden dogs sculpted entirely with a chainsaw. I’d love to explore how that kind of roughness could carry over into functional objects.

Combining metal and wood for the Folded Side Table. Photos: Richard Lovell

Q: Your most often-made mistake?
It is a tie between miscalculating measurements and over-sanding.

Q: Your biggest woodworking disaster!!?
Nothing too serious yet! I set the magnets in the wrong way on a pair of cabinet doors, so instead of locking together, they pushed apart – that was annoying.

Q: Your biggest woodworking achievement?
The Jut Chair, for sure. It looks simple, but three of the lap joints intersect and rely on each other – if one’s off, the whole thing doesn’t sit right.

Q: The thing I would most like to change about my own woodworking is…
Using the process to test ideas and experiment, not just focus on execution.

Q: What do you love most about woodworking?
How it deepens my appreciation for timber, and how the process itself sparks new design ideas. I’ve been lucky to take on a few commissions – it’s a joy to make something with my own hands that becomes part of someone’s everyday life. I am making less at the moment due to university commitments, but I’m working with the talented designer maker Eddie Richards to realise a few commissions. I’m always open to taking on new projects.

Q: With degrees in law, architecture and a Cert IV in furniture design, where do you see your main future practice lie?
I see my future practice in design, whether that’s within an architecture studio, through furniture commissions, or ideally a mix of both. I undertook the Master of Architecture to strengthen my design skills and broaden my opportunities in the field. I don’t plan to return to law, but I can see my legal background being useful – particularly in contract administration or project coordination roles.

Q: My best tip to other makers is…
Follow the weird idea.

Maker of the Year, presented by Carbatec is open for entry to makers all over the world. In addition to awards totalling A$19,500 in value, The Jan Pennell Award (A$1,500) will be made to an entry that displays outstanding woodturning. This entry will be selected from the Top 100 shortlisted entries across all Maker of the Year categories including Furniture, Arts & Objects and Student. Local and international makers are eligible to win this award.

In addition, the A$1000 Recycled & Rescued Award will be made to an entry that displays outstanding use of recycled and reused materials. This entry will also be selected from the Top 100 shortlisted entries across all categories. Local and international makers are eligible to win this award.

Learn more about Richard Lovell at Instagram @rlovell_93 
See Richard’s Maker of the Year entry 

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