Can you tell us about your background before joining Plankbridge. Have you always had an interest in design?
As a child I was really into making Airfix model kits and military models – I’d spend hours working on them in my bedroom. After I left school I worked as a test engineer for 20 years, before enrolling on a BA model making course at the Arts University Bournemouth as a mature student. I got to do everything from 3D CAD design to physical models and props and film sets (I even did two weeks’ model making on the movie Guardians of the Galaxy, although we all had to make ourselves scarce when the lead actor Chris Pratt came in for a fitting of the captain’s chair!). I learnt so much on that model-making course that today the only machine I can’t operate in the Plankbridge workshop is the spindle moulder.
Before joining Plankbridge three years ago I worked next door for Crimson guitars, as a tool maker in CAD design. Same drive to work every day but a very different end product!
Tell us about your role of CAD Designer. What does it involve?
Taking Richard’s initial concept sketches for the customer and turning it into a 3D CAD model, all the way through to the workshop drawings.
What does a typical day look like?
It can get quite busy in the office! One moment I’ll be working on a model for a customer, the next I’ll be liaising with one of the hut makers, making sure they have the drawings they need. Answering queries and problem solving is a key part of what I do, as well as liaising with procurement to see if there is anything unusual coming up in a hut that needs my attention.
If I could have any Plankbridge shepherd’s hut…
It would be a beautiful 24ft bespoke build we just built for a customer, which had a fully glazed end, a deck and a king-size bed in the middle of the space with enough space to walk around.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love that sense of achievement when you see the finished hut being wheeled out of the workshop and thinking, ‘I worked on that!’ Plankbridge is also a really enjoyable place to work – everyone gets on and it’s a great team. It’s always good working with people who are enthusiastic, skilled and knowledgeable about what they do.
Do you have a favourite colour from the Plankbridge colour card?
Oak apple and Rookery – I especially like positive colours.
Favourite thing about living and working in Dorset?
I live in Weymouth and love being near the sea – I spent every summer in the family beach hut growing up as a boy. But I also like the fact that you only have to drive half an hour inland to find rolling Dorset countryside and forests.
Meet other members of our team here
