• Neil Erasmus:
    Senior Lecturer.

     Neil Erasmus is the Australian School of Fine Wood’s Furniture      Design Head Lecturer, and he has been previously involved with      the ASFW in the capacity of a specialist lecturer.

     Neil Erasmus, a third generation designer/maker of fine      contemporary furniture, was born and educated in Cape      Town, South Africa.
In 1977 he began an intensive training in the design andmaking of fine furniture with his father, the highly regarded Andre' Erasmus.
Seeing no future in South Africa for a young family, Neil immigrated to Australia four years later and soon set up a furniture studio in Canberra. Here his furniture became sought after by embassies, government and individuals alike. During this time the famous Beaver Galleries began to work closely with Neil on special commission work for their clients, and one-of-a-kind exhibition pieces.

After another four years, Neil again decided to move - this time across the continent to Perth, where he set up another studio in the Hills area, whose natural, forested environment he has always regarded as being so conducive to the highly specialised creative work he does.
Here Neil soon found his work to be in high demand. An interesting phenomenon he discovered here was that his furniture and expertise became sought after, not only in Western Australia, but also nationally, and soon thereafter, internationally. Still to this day, most of his work leaves Australia's shores or goes to the Eastern states of Australia.

Neil has always held the belief that those who have special skills, especially ones that are being eroded by the ever growing demand for less expensive, inferior products, have a social responsibility to pass them on to others. Neil has no closely held 'secrets' that he is so precious about that he won't pass them on. Over his thirty year career, Neil has trained a number of successful designer/makers, and continues to do so. Since 2000, he has taught at both the Australian School of Fine Furniture in Tasmania, where he was the Academic Director for two years, and the Dwellingup School of Wood. In addition to this he mentors individuals on a one-on-one basis in his own studio, and teaches annually at the prestigious Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Maine, USA.			Student undertaking a project designed by Neil Erasmus, at the Australian School of Fine Wood, Dwellingup.
Neil, as one of its contributing editors, has written numerous articles for the Australian Wood Review magazine. In addition to writing on a range of wood or furniture related topics, he is often called upon to judge and/or review studio furniture exhibitions around Australia. Some examples of Neil's work can be found in various books, such as 'Celebrating Boxes', and '500 Chairs'. He also plans to author an unusual book of his own, half fiction, half fact, some time in the future.			Laundry Hampers - materials: W.A. Blackbutt lined with Camphor Laurel and pink Jarrah detail.
'Sept' Side Table - Materials: W.A. Blackbutt solids and veneer, Camphor Laurel, acrylic and suede.

Neil has exhibited his work both nationally and internationally, some examples having won prestigious awards such as his award winning 'DV8' table, which was acquired by the Art Gallery of Western Australia in 1997. Pieces can be found in private and public collections globally.

Typically, Neil’s work is light, contemporary and consummately crafted. His philosophy is that the elements of craft, design and art must all feature in his work in even balance. When necessary, he will incorporate new technologies, such as laser or water-jet cutting, honeycomb panels and computer generated designs.
He is as comfortable with the use of metals and acrylic as he is with wood.

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