Step into Kinsely Byrne’s studio where through candid conversation and visuals of his workspace, you’ll see how the quietude of the Cornish countryside becomes both a backdrop and a source of inspiration for his craft.

Working in what he describes as a “wild” and “isolated pocket”, his studio is a place of freedom and experimentation. A woodworker by practice, Kinsley creates sculptural objects that serve as vessels for metaphor and meaning — works that often explore themes tied to existence and the human journey.

Kinsley studied furniture making at Leeds College of Art and Design, including placements at the prestigious École Boulle in Paris. He went on to work as a cabinet maker for David Linley, and had a period restoring wooden boats, before settling in at Higher Spargo, where he continues to develop ideas at the intersection of art, craft, and design.

The roots of his woodwork run deep. Kinsley’s grandfather and great-grandfather were furniture makers in Yorkshire, and an early, everyday familiarity with timber and hand tools planted the seeds of his enduring connection with material — one that now unfolds in every carved piece that emerges from his studio: “If they had been stonemasons, maybe I would work in stone. But the tools laying around when I was growing up were for working in wood.”

Videographer: Sophie May

Writer: Muirne MacKinlay MacLeod