Alex Stanton, from Brisbane in Australia, is completing his first major project – a stunning ash console table, with beautiful decorative flourishes.

Many students would have made relatively simple legs for what is primarily a functional piece of hallway furniture, but Alex has moulded laminated supports that are a design echo of Gothic cathedral architecture.

Not only that, but he’s incorporated African ebony veneers into his leg supports, and carried that colour contrast through to the drawer fronts which are crafted from burned Douglas fir.

Those themes of integration and contrast are reflected in the table’s drawer bottoms, each made from spalted beech – and which add a note of surprise to what is an exceptionally-designed piece of furniture.

Alex has the advantage of having had three years of experience fitting timber floors and staircases, and has long had an interest in furniture design – even making some simple pieces such as tables.

That experience is evident in the confidence with which he’s designed and constructed his console table, which is also cleverly held together with bolts, so that it can be disassembled easily – an extremely practical design touch.

Alex decided on our professional course after a brief visit to the school last year, and may stay on after graduation, setting up in business from incubation space at the school.