Spotlight on: Roger Kentish

Roger Kentish hand-crafts wall art and other products from reclaimed timber, from stags' heads and coat hooks to bottle openers. We catch up with him in his studio in Bourne End.

What made you decide to start your creative business?

Kentish & Co was born from my love of designing and building using reclaimed timber. Having spent many years in the construction industry and seen the shameful waste, it’s great to be using timber that otherwise would be burnt and or end up in landfill.

Where do you find inspiration?

My inspiration comes from people loving the things I make. It’s great to walk into a room and see something that you have made being enjoyed and, in the case of the bottle openers, well-used.

I really enjoy the initial design process, which can be very frustrating, yet satisfying once the design comes together. Every piece I make is unique so it’s fantastic to see the end result and get the person’s reaction when they receive it (which so far is always very positive!)

Describe your typical working day.

I like to be in the workshop for 8am, coffee in hand. I update my white board with new orders. Then it’s on with the current projects, which can be in different stages of design and build. I use many different tools and processes so I’m constantly jumping from one workstation to another and raiding my wood store for the perfect piece of timber. I always try to finish the day with a tidy up as I work in a creative mess but this is not always achieved!

Then the evening is spent packing orders, social media and the dreaded paperwork..

What has been the biggest highlight and biggest challenge to date?

The biggest highlight was the first fair we did at Christmas in Cookham. The reaction was amazing: we virtually sold out and that was when I knew I could make a business out of my passion.

The challenge? Social Media and the website! I just don’t find the time to get to grips with it and when I do find the time, it’s after a long creative day so the old brain is not at its sharpest. I finally sought help and contacted Sarah from the Creative Duck team and had a fantastic one-to-one session, which really helped me to put a plan in place.

Best nugget of wisdom you can share with your fellow Creative Ducks?

Sometimes it’s worth paying for the advice, I spent months trying to get my FB and Instagram set up and working together, wasting hours that I could have been creating in the workshop. It turned out that only an expert could have sorted out the mess I had made. We all have our skill sets and mine is definitely not FB and Instagram integration.

Where can we find your work?

The Creative Duck online shop, I also have my items on the wall at the Stag and Huntsman in Hambleden where they can be purchased. Website: www.kentishco.co.uk Instagram: roger_kentish Facebook: @kentishco