April 22 - 28, 2020
By BELINDA HARRISON
IT is a riddle wrapped inside a mystery, inside an enigma - so said Winston Churchill in his 1939 speech and when I met Elliot and Louise Gorham from Steel Road Custom Furniture in Yackandandah and heard about Elliot’s particular talents - and their polarising existence - Churchill’s words stuck in my mind. I would call Elliot unique, a rare combination, a fascination even, but to those in his industry, he’s an enigma. You see, Elliot is not only a skilled furniture maker, he’s also a very good designer and the two are supposed to be mutually exclusive. In August last year the couple moved themselves and their successful businesses, which include Handsome & Co - their fine woodworking school, the Apparentt range of designer furniture and Steel Road Custom Furniture, from Richmond to Yackandandah and they couldn’t be happier. “I hadn’t visited Yackandandah specifically; I’d been to Albury, Wodonga and Beechworth, but never in between,” Louise gushed. “When we drove down the main street, I just literally fell in love with the trees, the cafe, the school, everything about the place. “I had this real gut sense that I could live here, our family could live here and we’d be really happy. “It was pretty instantaneous.” Elliot had a passion for woodworking from a young age and studied visual arts in woodworking at university - graduating with first class honours. “I’m not a woody woodworker - I’m passionate for the material, it’s biodegradable and when you choose the right timber for the job, it can last a lifetime or more,” he said. “I also love the variety of approaches with wood; you can bend it, you can cut joinery in it, veneer it or turn it.” While Elliot got good jobs after university, they didn’t ignite his passion like his university course had. The items he worked on were very commercial so he gave up working as a furniture maker for other people and completed a Diploma of Education - working first as a high school teacher and then in adult education, starting his own business - Handsome & Co - a few years later. Meanwhile, Louise had been studying musical theatre; her passion had always been to become an actor.
Design a
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◆ GOOD MOVE: Elliot Gorham (pictured) and wife Louise have moved their woodworking businesses from Melbourne to Yackandandah. PHOTO: Marc Bongers
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