Crafting a carpentry masterpiece 

Paul Jewby had wanted to work with wood for as long as he could remember, but he could never have imagined where he’d end up – crafting some of the most famed sculptures and furnishings on board some of the world’s most beautiful yachts. “My favourite toy when I was small was a woodworking set that my parents had bought me,” he says. “My mum said she could leave me in the garden with it and I’d be happy there the whole day.”

Fast forward a few years and Paul got a job as an apprentice carpenter and joiner and later enrolled in an evening class in woodcarving. “The chap who ran it said I could be good at it and recommended the City and Guilds London Art School that did a full-time carving course.” Paul applied, got a place and when he’d finished, went to work for a firm that restored 18th-century English furniture. “I spent six years there really learning the trade and learning different styles of ornament and then I went freelance after that,” says Paul. To start with, he had plenty of work, but after 9/11 the British antiques trade suffered and overnight, he lost most of his clients.

Creativity and the yachting world

Luckily, the superyacht world was waiting in the wings. An email from Winch Design arrived, inviting him to quote for work and the rest is history. Through superyachts, Paul has completed what he calls the best project of his career. The Tree of Life is a much lauded mural on Sea Owl. Carved from mahogany, the mural depicts a magical tree climbing up four decks, embracing the staircase all the way.

The project is the perfect example of why Jewby loves working in the yachting industry. “It’s such a fantastic world for creative artists like me,” he says. “They allow you to do the very best work that you can because they want the best. It has to be right and that is such a big thing for me. I’m obsessive about the quality of the work that I produce and the superyacht trade allows me to do that. Before, it was more about getting things done to budget. I’m so pleased that Winch found me and asked me to start contributing.”

Since then, much of Paul’s work comes from within the industry. Most recently, he completed a project that scooped him a Judges’ Special Award at Boat International’s Artistry and Craft Awards. “I created 24 door panels for a 70m yacht with a dozen different designs,” says Paul. They were carved textures representing sea, sand, light, water and air. “They were carved textures representing sea, sand, light, water and that sort of thing. It was really interesting. I’ve carved lots of Chippendale mirrors and 18th century ornament but in the last few years I’m carving more modern contemporary styles such as the door panels.”

Enjoying the finished product 

The project took two years as the doors were carved in oak which is a notoriously hard wood to carve. But the finished product was worth the effort. And for Paul, getting to see the finished product in situ is a wonderful novelty. “When I was restoring antique furniture, I’d do the carving and it would then go off and be gilded and finished and go straight to the dealer or owner so I would never see it finished,” he says. “It’s nice to get on board and see the finished product. Plus it helps to see it in situ for the next project because you see how it stands and how the shadow falls or how the lighting will be or other small details. No two jobs are the same, but the techniques are.”

Similarly, Paul gets a lot out of seeing owner reactions to his creations. “At the launch of Sea Owl they had a party at the National Maritime Museum in Amsterdam and I met the family there,” he recalls. “They were really happy with it and that means a lot to me. I always do the work to the best of my ability and I want it to be perfect so it’s really important that the client is happy.” 

Paul is brimming with ideas for future projects but there is one that stands out. “I’ve had an idea in my head ever since I was in my twenties,” he says. “There’s a great bit of Tudor furniture called ‘The Great Bed Of Ware’. I had this idea of doing ‘The Great Bed of Jewby’, which would be a four poster bed in Baroque style with a big barrel dome roof, big carved urns, swags of flowers, cherubs and carved barley sugar twist columns with flowers in the hollows.” And if anyone can make it a reality, it’s a superyacht owner. Watch this space.