Ash Rise Lifts Off

Ash Rise is an exciting collaboration between the Scottish Furniture Makers Association, Scottish Forestry and the Association of Scottish Hardwood Sawmillers. The project is generously supported by Creative Scotland through their open project fund and by Scottish Forestry. The aim of Ash Rise is to highlight the devastating effect of ash dieback in Scotland through a nation-wide exhibition of beautifully crafted furniture and other pieces made from ash coupled with an education outreach programme.

We will launch the project at the Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, on 27 April 2023 when we will hear from speakers including Dr Helen McKay OBE, Chief Forester for Scotland and Tom Addy, furniture maker and Ash Rise director, on the work being done to mitigate the impact of ash dieback and our response as makers. A key aspect of the launch will be to announce an open call to makers and designers from across Scotland to submit design proposals for creative pieces using ash. Up to 20 designs – 10 furniture and 10 other pieces - will be selected and makers will be asked to create their designed pieces using ash from diseased trees felled at Killearn Estate Woodlands, Stirlingshire last year and milled by Scottish Wood near Dunfermline.

The completed work will be toured to 6 spaces, large and small, to reach an audience from across Scotland including the West Coast and the Highland and Islands. The outreach programme will provide further information on the importance of ash as a resource and ash dieback is being addressed.

An important part of Ash Rise will be a film created to document the whole journey of the trees linking each stage from the identification, felling, milling, design and making through to the exhibition and outreach programme. The film will become an enduring legacy of the project, uniquely showcasing the whole story of the wood.