Tipperary furniture craftsman making waves in woodworking scene

Soul Form Furniture Studio, nestled in the heart of Tipperary, is the brainchild of Niall Walsh, a master craftsman, whose journey home is as remarkable as the work he creates.

After more than a decade honing his skills abroad, Niall has returned to his roots with a refreshed vision and a singular goal: to create bespoke, soulful furniture that tells a story.

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Going back to the beginning, Niall realised at a very young age that he had a creative spark, and was always itching to craft things.

“There was always that creative element in me. My dad had a workshop, so I was always hanging out of him. He'd be making stuff in the workshop and giving me little challenges. So before I could even see over the workbench, I was using machinery and cutting stuff and making stuff. I like to say I was always the kid who would rather build a tree house than play in a tree house.”

In school, Niall says he always preferred the more technical and practical subjects, eager to learn about how things worked.

“Probably my favourite was technical drawing. I had a very good teacher. He gave us models and explained how things should look from different angles and gave us a real understanding of the design process.”

Growing up in Moyne Templetuohy, Niall and his partner moved to New Zealand, where they lived for over 10 years, before moving back home recently and setting up shop once again in the parish.

“The parish of Moyne Templetuohy, and that's where I live now. I'm in the home house that I bought off my dad. That's where our workshop is. I was overseas for over a decade, and we had our business overseas, me and my partner Marina, in New Zealand, and then we made the decision to bring it home.”

Niall knew from a young age that he wanted to work with wood, creating different pieces.

Having tried his hand at carpentry briefly, Niall realised that he much preferred working with wood in a creative way, rather than from a solely practical perspective.

“I always loved working with wood and creating, but the advice given to me was not to get into furniture. It's a difficult game. And all the sort of common sense advice would be to start a trade, which I did. I started a carpentry and joinery apprenticeship, which I loved, but I always had a niggling in the back of my head to create furniture.”

Niall’s career as a wood worker in New Zealand had very humble beginnings, but very quickly turned into a time-consuming affair.

“It was sort of an organic journey. We lived in New Zealand in a house in the countryside, and there was an old shed down the bottom of the farm, and I started going down there in the evenings. I started making bits and pieces, and I started showing people what I'd made, and the feedback would be very good. Then I got my first commission, and started to do pieces regularly. Then we moved to a bigger workshop, and then a bigger workshop, and I think now we're on our fourth workshop, which was the best one we've ever had. So as the journey has gone on, my vision is getting clearer.”

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Niall spoke of how he can often lose track of time when he becomes really invested in a piece.

“If there's a project I'm really invested in, I'd have been thinking about it overnight, so I'm just eager to get into the workshop and start realizing all those ideas I had in my head. Once I go out to the workshop, time just evaporates. I'm not watching the clock, I'm not noticing if I'm hungry, I'm just totally in the zone, focused on the piece, and Marina then will be calling me and telling me to come in for dinner, and I'm shocked that it's that time already. That's the perfect day for me.”

Speaking on his career highlights to date, Niall said: “It's the little things. When we put the last sheet of aluminum on the shed was a massive day. When we poured concrete was a big milestone. And when we got our website, it was a huge day. It took a lot of time.”

Niall believes he is not currently at the peak of his job at present, and has some exciting ventures ahead in the near future.

“We're chatting with some architects and designers that we really admire and would love to collaborate with. We're in early talks with them for a couple of concepts for some pieces for a historic hotel that's been built. We've got a lot in the pipeline. I want to exhibit some pieces in a gallery, if not the end of this year, early next year. There's loads happening and lots to be excited about.”

Speaking on what brings him his greatest joys in his job, Niall feels it is the moment he gets to hand a piece over to a customer.

“The look on the customer's face when we give them their piece. Sometimes they're as anxious as I am, and even though you put everything into it, you’re still not 100% sure they're going to love it. So that moment when you hand it over and you see the joy in their face, that's the biggest reward for me.”

Regarding the challenges, Niall feels that management is the toughest part of his job, but feels he is able to work well despite this.

“Running a small business. Just balancing time is always a challenge, and not trying to do everything all at once. You just have to give yourself time and step away from it now and again.”

Reflecting on his career at this point, Niall’s advice to his younger self would be to take the time to get the job right, and learn from the mistakes along the way.

“It's a journey. I never like to think like that, because I don't think there are any shortcuts. Everything I know today is because of all the little wins and losses I've had along the way. I don't think it's possible to be here without going through those steps. It makes me who I am and I'm happy with who I am.”

When asked what advice he would give to someone looking to pursue a career like his, Niall said that one must consistently push themself, but also allow themself to enjoy the journey along the way.

“If there's someone there who has a feeling in the back of your head to do it, push yourself and go for it, because life is too short.

“Appreciation for what you're doing. We tell ourselves we're lucky to have this opportunity all the time.”