For the sharpest of talents
Since 2013, the Tormek Scholarship Award has been given to a senior student, majoring in cabinet making and furniture design. The purpose is to shed light on young talents and to encourage you who aspire to high professional qualifications and want to invest time in your woodwork.
Common to all Tormek's Scholars is that sharp tools have played a significant part in their craftmanship and creative process. We are honoured to see that Tormek has been a part of the process in these creative and challenging projects!
From engineer to furniture maker. Kara Ghasemiani’s journey into craftsmanship is driven by curiosity, precision, and a love of wood. His award-winning “Infinity Bench” reflects both technical mastery and poetic design.
This year's journeyman furniture to be awarded the Tormek Scholarship is a tribute to a dear family member. As a finale to his studies at Carl Malmsten's Furniture Studies, Andreas Söderström has made the archive furniture "Morfar" (Swedish for Grandpa).
Inspired by traditional Japanese architecture, the journeyman examination piece of this year's Tormek Scholar, Rasmus Larsson, was borne of his longing to make nature an integral part of his work and both showcases his skill and his knack for creative solutions. We had a chat with Rasmus in his workshop back home in Kristianstad.
The Tormek Scholorship Award of 2020 is awarded to Carl Angtoft, for his elegant piece of qualifying furniture. The light and airy sideboard brings to mind freedom and movement, a nice contrast to a year marked by a pandemic which has limited all of us. The sideboard is unusually functional since it has no back side. "My idea was to be able to use it around the room", explains Carl.
Johanna Ritscher and her filing cabinet entitled "12 månader" [12 months] is the 2019 recipient of the Tormek Scholarship Award. Johanna has created a cabinet that would be the dream addition to any living room thanks to its beautiful design and outstanding details. "I am truly passionate about designing, and I love creative projects," says Johanna.
The Tormek Scholarship Award for 2018 in Sweden is awarded to Peter Pålsson and his detailed writing case made from oak, juniper wood and pearwood. This product is extremely flexible and can also be broken down into individual elements, providing the owner with a number of drawers of various sizes. The judges were impressed by Peter's playfulness and are pleased to present Peter with a complete Tormek system that we hope will help him with his creative work in future.
We are delighted to congratulate Alexandra Michelsen who is this year’s recipient of the Tormek Scholarship Award in Sweden. She impressed the jury with her wall cabinet "Skilla", a modern piece of furniture with a retro design. The prize, a complete Tormek system including machine and accessories, is going to be very useful since Alexandra will be part of a start-up workshop this Autumn.
The Tormek Scholarship Award 2019 in the UK has been awarded to Rachel Elston. Rachel has created a beautiful entryway table “JOVE” providing both functionality and elegance. The design won Rachel a complete Tormek Wet Sharpening System - which will prove most useful as she continues her career.
The Tormek Scholarship Award 2018 in the UK has been awarded to Dan Wall from Worcester. Dan has created a stunning table “#36” with some great detail during his time at Peter Sefton Furniture School in Upton-upon-Severn, and the prize - a complete Tormek Wet Sharpening System - will be very useful as Dan will continue to design his own pieces. Find out how this new woodworker built in the number 36 into his table and now seeks your curiosity and conversation for his work.
The UK recipient of the 2017 Tormek Scholarship Award is Olly Christian from Bristol. Olly is a fully qualified nurse and has many years experience working in the NHS, however he decided to change his career to suit his creative talent and home life. He has recently finished a 2-year course studying Furniture Making at the City of Bristol College; with his second-year project he won the Somerset Guild of Craftsman 2017 furniture prize and is now also awarded with a new Tormek Sharpening System.