David wanted to convey these ideas but found himself a better designer than he was a teacher. Students would find themselves in at the deep end too quickly and frustrated at not being able to achieve the forms that made David’s work great. His mastery was of design, not articulating how these forms came into being.
The tuition needed structure; it needed making expertise, clear progression, whilst maintaining the excellent standards synonymous with Rowden. It was an almost impossible task. David firstly worked with outstanding maker Nick Chandler. Nick was hugely influential in bringing to life, the forms that David put to paper and took some responsibility for training students. After a time, he brought in cabinetmaker and Guild Mark winning master craftsman Daren Millman. From here, the training was revolutionised.
Daren was to be the principal tutor to these aspiring woodworkers; to push them harder, make them faster and expose them to a broader array of advanced techniques and skills. He was also the principal maker for pieces leaving Rowden Atelier. David continued to design for commissions and speculatively, whilst providing an insight into his process, to students.
As the curriculum developed, David brought in award-winning designer/maker Ed Wild to Rowden, along with Jon Greenwood and others he felt embodied the necessary values. All underpinned the growth of the workshop and its student body. Each moved forward the scope of the woodworkers training at Rowden, themselves exploring their creative ideas in wood.
Around 2013, David started moving away from the teaching workshop and increasingly focused on his written work. He published newsletters about the workshop, articles for industry press and two books about the height of professional furniture making. His final book, ‘The Intelligent Hand’ explores in detail his efforts as an artist, as a furniture designer/maker and what Rowden stands for.