Michael 'Seahorseman' Riley: Michael 'Seahorseman' Riley of Hessay, York was trained at Acorn Industries with Derek Slater in the 1960s. He produced hand-made high class furniture in the Yorkshire School tradition, all of which carries his trademark carved seahorse motif

English Oak: The most British of woods, that can produce really special results. English oak has been used for hundreds of years to construct everything from sea-going vessels to fine furniture. Although oak grows widely across Europe and North America, craftsmen continue to cherish English oak which grows more slowly than its foreign counterparts giving it strength, durability. Quarter sawn boards are very straight grained and have distinctive growth rings and medullary rays that give a very beautiful effect as well as being renowned for their superior stability and strength

The Yorkshire School of the Arts & Crafts movement started with Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson'såÊ transformation from jobbing carpenter to master craftsmen. By the mid-1920s he had adopted his famous trademark and had his own workshop busily employing several men. The workshop grew and over the years many of the craftsmen have taken their skills and branched out. Most have adopted a trademark of their own, a fox, a lizard, a fish, a rabbit to name but a few, and whilst some have slavishly stuck to the Mouseman designs others have taken the style and adapted it. Other craftsmen, unconnected to the Mouseman workshop, have also chosen the classic Yorkshire Oak style as their own.Typical Yorkshire school items are in English Oak, with traditional pegged joints and adzed surfaces