The backyard maker creating pieces built to last

JAKE Lunniss fell into a string of jobs before he found woodworking, but a simple request from his wife led him to a career he adores.

“When I moved to Ocean Grove my wife asked for a bookcase, and I was like ‘well, I’ll make it how hard can it be?’ And it escalated really fast,” Lunniss said, sitting at a table crafted with his own hands.

Five years on, the father of three is producing bespoke furniture from the small garage behind the family home.

It is a tight space – so small the largest table he has ever made was longer than the workshop itself – but it does the job and gives him the freedom to explore his craft on his own terms.

Made from 37 pieces of Australian and dyed timbers, the cockatoo appears mid-bite on an ebony inlay, set into a Queensland maple backdrop. Photo: Supplied.

Self-taught through Youtube tutorials, the first piece Lunniss completed shocked those with far more experience.

“I just watched every single video on YouTube that there was about furniture making or woodworking in general,” Lunniss said.

“I started off turning plywood into boxes and then I ended up in the finer end.

“There was a chair that I liked, so I thought I’d have a go making it and that was the very first piece of actual freestanding furniture I made.”

Showing off that work, it became clear he had found his calling.

Jake Lunniss’ Tasmanian myrtle high-back dining chair, built for a joint timber exhibition in July 2025. Photo: Supplied.

Speaking with Melbourne-based furniture maker Rob Fabris, Lunniss realised it could be more than a hobby.

“I really enjoy it and it is satisfying in all the ways academic work isn’t,” Lunniss said.

“At the same time, the Bellarine Arts Trail was opening, and I had a piece ready just in time for it, and ended up taking part in that at Hive Gallery.

“The reception was overwhelming. Not just ‘oh this is lovely’ – people were stopped slack-jaw, and I realised there is something here.”

But love and skills do not pay the bills and Lunniss is open about the struggles being a modern artisan can hold.

A mid-century modern desk chair in highly figured red gum. Photos: Supplied.

Working on commissions alone cannot keep food on the table, even if it is where his passion lies.

“The number of people in Australia that make a genuine living from furniture making alone is probably zero,” Lunniss said.

“If you wanted to do just bespoke custom work, you would be very hungry. Some people might be comfortable with that, but you certainly would not be retiring.”

Working mostly with Australian native woods, the Englishman said he cannot think of a reason not to use the “uniquely Australian” resources in his designs.

Lunniss thrives in combining different timber in his work to create ornate patterns and motifs.

A mid-century modern desk chair in highly figured red gum. Photo: Supplied.

His 37-piece cockatoo is one of the more intricate.

“Depending on what you’re making and how you’re going to make it, you have to bear in mind differing personalities of the timber, but for the most part, I don’t really think too hard about it,” Lunniss said.

When he is not in the workshop, Lunniss is cataloguing his experience and learnings, documenting his move from IT to woodworking on his website.

He hopes his words help give a starting platform to others who want to start creating things with their hands. Lunniss himself spent a decade working in IT and began a law degree before finding his calling.