Based in the beautiful Bay of Islands, master craftsman boat builder Craig McInnes of CMC Design used his 30 years experience to follow his lifetime ambition of furniture design. He began with his adult furniture range – exquisite, contemporary and featuring nautical ‘bones’.
When his daughter Jesse came along, he began to search for quality handmade children’s furniture and realised there wasn’t a lot available. In response to this he developed his Hebe range – quality, unique wooden kids’ furniture that is made to last for generations.
Photograph by Jenna Young Photography
What do you make?
Unique and durable wooden children’s furniture and building blocks. Stylish upmarket adult furniture. I also do any custom creations.
How did you get into your craft?
From childhood I was always sketching new and interesting (well, I thought so) furniture designs. With 30 year boat building experience behind me I decided to follow my dream and launched my furniture ranges.
Do you have formal training or qualifications in your craft?
I’m a qualified boat builder
.
What are your favourite materials, tools and processes?
I love working with natural materials. I especially love laminating wood into cool and unique forms. One of my hobbies is collecting antique hand tools like planes etc.
What inspires you?
The IRD! The curiosity of what my next creation will be and the Kiwi ‘can do anything’ attitude.
Is there a philosophy behind your work?
I like to make REAL things with my hands that inspire and last. Furniture is my art where I have a freedom to create. I want my furniture to have a standout identity and style, that will stand the test of time.
Photographs by Jenna Young Photography
Five words that describe your mind:
Virgo, virgo, virgo, virgo, virgo. (I don’t follow star signs but have all the virgo traits – so my wife tells me!)
Describe your workspace:
Busy and varied (and dusty!). We are excited to be moving to a new workshop in March just 2 doors down from where we currently are.
Your favourite response from a customer:
Our most recent customer gave us the following feedback: “We are extremely happy with the furniture! Absolutely love, love, love it!”
Product photographs by Jenna Young Photography
What are you listening to? Ella Fitzgerald
Recommend an album: Billy Idol – Shooting Stars
Your favourite childhood book? Harry Potter didn’t exist so Janet & John .
What are you reading now? The Saturday Herald
Favourite quotes?
“Let’s blow this popsicle stand” and “Don’t panic it’s organic”.
Do you have any pets?
Work colleague and off-cut chewer Chinka the dog – and the occasional office snail.
What was the last handmade item you bought?
A New Zealand-made wooden car for my two year old daughter and a pair of Dual jeans – also New Zealand made. I always buy New Zealand made!
CMC Design are giving away a fabulous Hebe playbox worth $380! This ingenius box table has a hinged table top and a gas-lever box-top (no slammed fingers to worry about!) making it the ultimate toddler’s playbox. To be in to win, leave a comment below and we’ll draw the winner on Friday 15 March. The draw is open to New Zealand residents only.
absolutely stunning, I love to buy NZ Made and support where I can, like your stuff, brilliant
So sad I’m too late to enter?? Oh we’ll, glad to have found something worth spending money on for kids, all I seem to find is bad imported or plastic rubbish at the usual discount places or “designer” furniture which is really the same thing with a larger price tag! Happy me! Now to decide 🙂
Your product is fantastic!!! I work for the SPCA and if I was to win this we would raffle it off for our fantastic SPCA (situated in Hokitika). Everyone here values great craftmenship, goodluck to everyone!!!!
We will look out for you when next visiting the Bay of Islands. Your furniture looks great and quality is definitely getting harder to find. Congratulations on following your dreams and making beautiful, quality things!
Yay my kids would love your art! Thanks for filling a void in the market! Awesome Kiwi ingenuity! On ya! 🙂
Wow! Some amazing furniture there! Particularly LOVE the toy box, ingenious!
Love your furniture and your story. I wish I could afford to fill my home with great quality pieces like this that can be handed down.
NZ made!!
WOW! I have heard of your furniture but had never seen any until now. What a fantastic idea – good on you for taking the initiative to create your own child-friendly furniture. Go NZ Made!!
Very cool! Hope I’m not too late…….:)
This is beautiful! Stylish, practical and so useful. I love it.
There is really something just wonderful about Wood isn’t there ?! You prove it time and time again with your beautiful designs. Such timeless pieces of furniture that any home would be lucky to have !
This make ya love being a New Zealander and Love NZ made. You can really tell you love what you do, living the dream and earning from creativity. Keep up the good work
Love love love it!
The Hebe toybox looks like a wonderful piece of furniture.
What gorgeous furniture! Love it.
Virgolicious! The Hebe would look fantastic in our house, and my son would love, love, love it!!!!
What a fantastic idea! And I love the look of all your furniture plus reassuring to know that it is actually well made too. I know my two girls would love it!!!
Love it!
I love to hear of /see individuals creating beautiful, functional things from natural materials. These designs are unique, and perfectly suit their function. As one who lives in home built (by my partner) of recycled timbers, I applaud.
Also I once made a simple kauri stool for a grandchild (with limited skills and few tools). It is, despite simplicity and slight wonkyness, something I’m proud of.
Love your funiture, what beautiful pieces of art, you can see they would last a lifetime! Thanks
What awesome products. Love the kids stuff and the idea that they will last for generations. Looking forward to getting some for our girls.
Wow! I have an addiction to natural wood products for my child! Its awesome how you’ve created such beautiful products!! This would go perfect in my son’s play area where there is a wooden play table for him. I absolutely adore it!!!!!!
Hi Craig,
What a great experience and skill from the intricasies of boat building
to furniture and design. Would like the opportunity to visit in the future if you have a showroom.
Our Grandson would love to explore within the contents of your playbox.
Kind regards
Ron
I always feel so humbled by the incredible displays of others expression through art in this country. It is an honor to be able to purchase a piece of art of any description as a adult, but so valuable to be able to purchase a piece of functioning art for a child, that they can become so physically familiar with a piece of furniture from a young age therefore unconsciously raising their standards so that later on ,instead of choosing a mass produced bookshelf or desk, they look for something that feels similar to what they experienced growing up. It’s what I want for my children in all the things I can give them and buying New Zealand made is crucial! Thank you for sharing your art.
Quality stuff, great to see. Will be saving the pennies
LOVE love LOVE this! What a fantastic innovative person, we also have been on the look out for handmade quality wooden toys/furniture for our little Jesse boy, 14 months old 🙂 love the name Chinka for the dog!
It looks so “earthy” and natural. I love all of it!
Inspirational. I like how modern, creative, functional and well funky your stuff is. looks good anywhere. i reckon your furniture will be a big hit everwhere… we need real furniture for our kids not melaninee crap. and why shouldnt it be cool, funky etc.. my kids room will be the coolest room in the house, i am buying your stuff..
thanks for creating it
How what beautiful stuff. Hope I’m not too late to enter the draw.
You are so very talented and creative, just love your furniture, the all natural wood finish made in your wonderful natural organic style – the Hebe playbox is a fantastic idea, somewhere for little ones to sit and play and also with added storage. My cherished grand-daughter would be over the moon if she had a playbox made by you. Just keep on creating your beautiful furniture – it’s amazing.
Finding such an awesome furniture designer and crafter has made my day, I can wait for the kids next birthday. What a lucky person whoever wins the chest/desk!
Your work makes the 3 s’s come to mind – Simple, Solid yet extremely Stylish.
we bought two of the toddler chairs. They are very sturdy and stylish. We look forward to collect more of the other kids furnitures.
Beautiful craftmanship. A definite heirloom for generations to come
I love it that someone out there still cares enough to make quality long-lasting beautifully crafted furniture. there’s just too much buy-it-cheap and when it breaks replace it mentality around nowadays. everything gets tossed, nothing is repaired & cherished.
Keep up the lovely work
Beautiful. My grandad made my dad a toy box when he was a little boy and my brother had it when he was little. These pieces will hold more than toys in the future 🙂
I’d love to win this for my granddaughter!
One word: Awesome.
I would love to have this beautiful toy box for my granddaughter in Wellington – space is at a premium and this design is perfect. I am very pleased to have been introduced to your work through FELT – I shall be watching this space.
Absolutely gorgeous furniture!
I LOVE your work, and am so pleased to have been exposed to it. Love a fellow ‘buy NZ made’ advocate. Ka pai!
absoutely gorgeous!!!
Wow, awesome furniture, love the style and practicality too, think they are beautiful, tino ataahua! Loved reading your answers too, you seem to have a lovely sense of humour too.
Well thought out. Can grow with the child from toy box- to desk to bench seat for teen. well done
Beautiful stuff – inspiring for playtime and so great to have furniture especially made for kids. My little guy is turning 1 next month and I could definitely see him getting excited over this toy box!
Hope I’m not too late to enter! These products are fantastic and the playbox looks so cool, my little son would love it!
Gorgeous, love the ethos, style and ingenious creations. Hope you don’t mind but I’m forwarding this profile to a few designy creative buddies who I know would find this inspiring. Wish my wee one could have one.
Wow, just beautiful!
What a divine looking piece. This would by far be the fanciest thing in our house! I love it.
What great looking products. Quality, craftsmanship, usefulness and “styley” quirkiness all in one piece. These look like these would last forever and suit any environment. Just the type of products we should be producing in NZ.