Nathan Day creates custom-made furniture. He's recently finished his apprenticeship and has started his own business - Nathan Day Furniture. We chat to Nathan to find out about what's involved in his job.

"I enjoy designing more than anything." Nathan says, "I started my business because I wanted the independence, to be designing for myself. I've just been scribbling away since I got into furniture. I was scribbling ideas all through my apprenticeships. Now I've got dozens of dozens of sketchbooks - now I just pick the most interesting to make." Nathan says. "But having the skills to bring it to life is amazing, too."

As a designer, he draws on many different sources. "I design to my taste. Things that I see in furniture I'll take from a varied background. The natural environment is a big influence. I get a lot of inspiration just living in the country, just being in a really nice environment." shares Nathan. "As far as actual design influences, I draw a lot more inspiration from contemporary design, modern architectures.[However,] my approach to make each piece is inspired by the English craftsman of furniture."

"After spending time in a traditional workshop over there, it is a really inspiring way to make furniture."

The time frame to complete a piece of furniture, Nathan says, can vary between from a week to months. "I've worked on pieces throughout my training for like four months. Some people are working on wilder stuff that would take like 6 months." But, according to his experiences studying on scholarship in England, some workshops will have such complex pieces that they will work on just two pieces all year. "They do amazing stuff. It can take you in a lot of directions, from your basic training you can end up anywhere."

But creating custom furniture for clients is a whole different experience. While his work generally evolves from draft sketches, to models and working sketches, then creating the components for the actual completed piece of furniture, with clients he consults with them through the entire process. He creates a brief with them, then works on sketches to create something the client is happy with.

"If a client says, for example, ‘I'm looking for a bookcase' - and then it's up to me to discuss the size, the budget, and a whole series of questions such as material choices, the finish, the time frame and that sort of thing. It can be quite an involved process. It's a special thing to commission a piece of artwork that you're going to live with."

Woodwork was something that Nathan had always felt passionate about. "You do woodwork when you go to high school, and I had decided at that point that it was something I could consider doing. It was almost like it was meant to be in a lot of ways." Nathan landed a job right out of high school, and was offered an apprenticeship after working in a furniture making workshop for little over a year. "It was pretty much my dream job. It was something I wanted to do."

However, Nathan is still adjusting to some aspects of the job: "I've got the making and design skills. I don't think that's a problem. But throughout the course of your training, you don't really gain the business skills. Now I need to get the business skills as I go." But Nathan isn't just leaving it to fate. "I'm taking part in a thing called Springboard - it's a mentoring program for design businesses. It covers the key areas in running a sustainable small business."

"Ultimately, I'd like to employ and train others. I'm teaching at TAFE as well at the moment: I'm teaching part-time night classes. At this stage it goes hand-in-hand with getting business off the ground. And the chance to get and train an apprentice would be really rewarding." Nathan tells us.

Despite the fact that his business is only just started, it's something that he might just be stuck with for life. "I had an older guy come into the showroom this morning. He's spent all his life making custom furniture for boats. It's one of those things - there aren't a lot of jobs that you would come out of retirement to do. You just get hooked on it!"

What personal qualities are needed for the job?

Just having a good background - if I decided I liked woodwork, I'd just apply myself to get the best grade in my woodwork class. When you're trying to get your foot in the door, if that's all you've got to look at. I always did pretty well. Just always apply yourself in those early stages and do as well as you can.

Advice for people entering the industry?

If you decide you like it, from what I've seen, it's something you can do forever. There aren't too many things you could work away for the rest of your life. It's rewarding, it's a great industry. Just make the most of opportunities and give it your all.