Clayton’s workspace is made up of two small rooms in a garage, but you can feel his passion for the craft of resin art and resin casting from a mile away. Give him a call, and it’ll take you less than a minute to figure it out: this man loves his craft, he’s delightfully great at it and he doesn’t give until whatever he’s making, be it a vanity unit, a dining table or a wine holder is a showstopper.
At House.mt, these are the kind of local people we want to find, work with and recommend to you. Yes, buying ready-made furniture from Ikea or a superstore is cheap and quick, but we strongly believe that no one spends years saving up to get a house only for it to look exactly like every other house.
With this in mind, when Clayton agreed to collaborate with us on a series of articles on his craft, we couldn’t be happier.
To kick off our partnership with Bespoke Builds, the company Clayton runs with his apprentice Claude, we want to let you in on what we know about the maker.
1. Resin art and resin casting are not the same thing!
Resin casting is the process of ‘filling in’ or ‘pouring in’ resin between holes, cracks, and fissures in timber; it can also be used to join two different pieces of timber together, and to create a smooth border for raw timber with rough edges.
Resin art is the act of using resin to create a design, a pattern or an illustration on the surface of an object.
2. Clayton began experimenting with resin art three years ago
He stumbled upon the craft by accident and then decided to custom-build something for his own home. Clayton spent over a year experimenting, sifting through online forums, doing trial and errors and going to workshops. He then started doing resin art professionally after friends started requesting that he does something for their own homes.
Since then, he’s done work for restaurants, hotels, boutiques, offices and more!
His portfolio of work now includes laptop tabletops, desks, dining tables, coasters, tiered plates, business cardholders.
3. Resin casting must be done in a tightly-controlled environment
Room temperature and moisture levels are extremely important to guarantee that the resin work turns out perfect. While he keeps one of his rooms for storage and carpentry, he uses the other room as a controlled environment for his resin works to set properly.
4. Resin craft requires a special kind of timber imported from the UK
Moisture content is extremely important when resin casting. When working with resin and wood you have to take in consideration the moisture level of the wood. If the wood has a moisture content of more than 10% the resin will not bond well to the wood, causing it to break off from the wood over time.
To guarantee this doesn’t happen, Clayton imports specially treated timber that’s been processed in a vacuum kiln for over a month to ensure moisture content is low enough.
5. You can ask Clayton to design whatever you’d like, he’ll be happy to oblige!
Clayton has an extensive catalogue of different soft furnishing pieces that customers can choose from as templates and then personalise, but he’s also happy to take up new requests and design ideas.
Moreover, Clayton also takes requests that do not involve resin casting or resin art. Clayton has a wealth of experience with custom soft furnishings design of every kind!
6. He collaborated with The Fork and Cork Restaurant to create this stunning Oak slab
7. He furnished the entirety of his home by himself
From doors to tables to wall units, Clayton’s home is stunningly furnished in his style. No, that doesn’t mean he has resin art everywhere. Clayton’s the first one to admit that soft furniture made with resin casting and art shouldn’t be used everywhere in the home. A) It can get expensive and B) resin art and casting is best used to create a centerpiece or focal point in the room, add character and complement other kinds of furniture.
Some of his creations include furniture pieces he made for his son, including a baby walker and toy cart, as well as a guitar they built together from scraps for a school project. (We are guessing that his son really stood out from the other kids in class).
8. Take a look at this clip of Clayton working his magic:
Show Clayton your support by following his Facebook page!
Clayton regularly uploads pictures of his creation on Facebook and Instagram.
Do you want Clayton to create something for you?
Furnishing a home, a restaurant or a hotel? Be it your own space, or a place you’re styling for a client, we believe Clayton’s work are rare finds worth checking out. Call him at 7966 5864 or send him a private message on his social pages!
Sponsored By
Bespoke Home Solutions
We believe people who spend years working and saving up to buy a house deserve a home that doesn't look the same as everybody else's.
Your home should be a celebration of you, your roots and your character. We're makers with a mission, to bring back local craftsmanship and unique, intricately designed soft furnishings back into Maltese houses and spaces.
We use resin casting and resin art to create a diverse range of unique soft furnishings from countertops, lighting fixtures, to wine bottle holders, tiered plates, coasters, tables, vanity units to paperweights.
No two homes should look alike, and no two creations made by us are exactly the same.