in the backstreets of sydenham, christchurch, you’ll find michael gilling with a coffee in hand, surrounded by the quiet industry of his converted workshop.
Amongst the scent of freshly cut timber and the presence of both finished and in-progress pieces, Xylo Woodcraft is shaping its next chapter. With a new online store soon to launch, Michael’s work is already woven into spaces ranging from Kathmandu stores to our own Nightworks Studio HQ.
Encountering a Xylo piece is enough to explain why we wanted to sit down with Michael. His instinct for materiality, devotion to thoughtful design, and respect for local craft echo the values we chase in our own practice. At a moment when the year winds down, this kind of dedication reminds us why excellence in craft still matters.
simplicity, perfection: the marks of the hand
q. your work often sits at the intersection of function and form: how do you know when a piece is ‘resolved’? is it a feeling, or is there a specific threshold you look for?
I would say there is a bit of both. I always come back to the quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. “Perfection is achieved not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." You always have to balance form and function, aesthetics with structure. An heirloom piece of furniture has to survive the merry-go-round of trends. For me simplicity is timeless.
q. in the past, you’ve mentioned letting go of perfectionism. what do you think is gained, creatively or personally, when you start to embrace imperfection in the work?
This one is definitely multi-faceted. Creatively I’ve gained permission to try new things, and I’ve learned to look back on older work and let it be. It is all a portrait of a time, showing the skills you had and didn’t have. I don’t think there is ever a finish line for creativity, so the ability to reflect and see growth is important.
Mistakes happen, tools leave their marks, the timber is imperfect. If you can zoom out and see the whole picture for a moment, it makes it easier to decide what matters and to work with imperfections instead of trying to get rid of them. This is what separates mass manufactured goods from human made. I think with the rise in AI, there is a counter response gravitating to imperfection more and more.
q. wood has memory, movement, grain. Do you ever feel like you’re negotiating with the material, rather than shaping it?
Wood can be a very unstable material. I have learned how to negotiate with it. A perfectly straight board can turn into a banana with the wrong process. The longer I’ve worked with timber I have started to understand the movement and changes more and can design with that in mind. There has to be an acceptance that timber will always have movement. A perfectly smooth dovetail joint in a few months will expand and contract and will never be like new.
The beauty is not in the joint being perfect, but knowing that it was crafted and a person's energy went into it. That’s the start of the story and the longer a piece of furniture is around the more character it gains from the environment it lives in.
how ideas take shape over time
q. you’ve said that your brain is wired for making. how does that innate impulse shift when you’re creating for clients versus yourself?
I don’t think it shifts much. The way I make things has always been dictated by what machinery I have access to and how I know to use it. I have to work within these restraints for myself and others, so it sets a similar course for creating. I think restraints can actually be an aid to creativity.
q. are there pieces or forms you return to, rework, or revisit over time? how do you approach design iteration?
I try to learn new techniques with every new piece I make. I've used it as a way to expand my skills and figure out what I’m good at and how to work more efficiently. Dovetail joints in cabinets are one form I’ve returned to over and over. Starting out by hand chiselling everything to now using a combination of saws, routers and chisels to make it more repeatable.
At the start I jumped around in terms of form, mostly as I needed work and would take what I could get. Now I'm starting to design my own pieces to sell as products. Developing an item happens with small tweaks or happy accidents. Once I had the back of a dining chair clamped vertically in place, the clamp slipped and the back tilted slightly. That ended up being the new form and led to a new direction of design for another pieces.
q. what is an all-time favourite piece of furniture, who made it, and why? what learnings have you taken from their practice into your own?
The Conoid Bench Seat by George Nakashima. I was in awe of this piece when I first saw it. The offset backrest, the delicate spindles, nothing extra. It’s the perfect mix of careful craft sitting on an imperfect slab full of character, both reflecting each other. I saw this seat before I had started making furniture. I didn’t realise how much it influenced my journey and resonated with my ideas, until I made a version for myself last year.
a chair, a neighbourhood, and the details that shape them
q. the grain, the angles, the finish. Everything about this chair feels intentional. How much of that detail is decided in advance, and how much emerges on the bench?
I had a pretty clear idea of the form for this chair. Inspired by mid century furniture with wide armrests was the intention. I wanted it to be a chair with built-in table like arms for my morning coffee. The other details evolved as I started prototyping. The ergonomics were what I played around with the most. I found some diagrams of ideal seated positions and had to fit the angles within the restraints of the frame.
You mentioned the grain which is important. As I’m processing the boards from rough sawn timber, they start to show themselves. It's a conscious process of ordering and selecting the pieces to sit in a certain place on the chair. I go for a Danish oil finish on chairs as this will develop a good patina over time, it allows the timber to grow in depth and tone as well.
q. what role does comfort play in your design process, and how do you test for it when the materials you’re working with are naturally rigid?
Furniture needs to be inviting. I’ve noticed people feel permission to touch and interact with pieces I’ve made. This could be the design and how I use the materials. A well designed rocking chair is a pleasure to sit in and can have a softness to it. Developing the Ritual Chair I’ve found that small changes are very noticeable in the angles and places where the hardness sits on the body. Adding the soft upholstered seat was crucial: I want it to be a seat you can spend some time in.
q. you’re based just around the corner from us in Sydenham. sydenham has that gritty, in-between feel: equal parts workshops, warehouses, galleries, and coffee roasters. does that kind of environment influence what or how you make?
The longer I’ve been in Sydenham the more I realise how many businesses are packed into a small area. I’ll jump on my bike and pick up hardware and other small items for jobs, and call in and chat to the upholsterer who’s around the corner. It’s a helpful resource being able to quickly go and chat about a project face to face with someone.
I can get caught up in thinking I need bigger and better tools and a flash workshop to do good work. Biking around the area I see plenty of crammed workshops that produce quality work. It helps to keep the focus on getting better at using what tools I have.
work that endures
q. how do you want people to feel when they encounter your work? not just visually, but physically? what should linger?
I want people to feel at ease with my work and be invited to engage with it. Not because it’s impressive but because it’s genuine and honours the craft process and the materials. I think there is energy captured in work that’s been crafted. I think my work is a subconscious reflection of my personality and perspective on life.
q. currently, what are you working on that is challenging and/or exciting for you?
I’m currently developing products to sell through my new online store. Learning to balance efficiency and integrity and figuring out what areas to push into more at certain times. I’m excited to feel confident in what I’m making and be able to deliver that efficiently but still with my fingerprint on it.
It’s challenging trying to grow a business being a one man band with limited resources at times, but there is an enjoyment in this process that leads to being resourceful and making the most with what you have around you. I’m looking forward to releasing these products I have been prototyping for years and to seeing them being useful and enjoyed.
