Nicola has done more than most would hope for in a lifetime. He is both artist and builder; sculpting leather, wood and bronze with great patience and conviction. What draws me to his pieces is their reassuring firmness and weight; the smell of beeswax and bergamot, the feeling of age and depth and life.

Enveloping armchairs and quietly elegant cabinets exude a distinct feeling of beauty and, ultimately, home. At one point, I asked Nicola if he could modify the legs on a sideboard. And he said, "This is the leg." How can you even argue with that level of determination? It takes tremendous courage: that is his craft.