MASTER carver Joseph Hemingway thought his career had gone up in smoke when his workshop was destroyed by fire.
But his career has risen from the ashes after he completed his first fine chair since the blaze.
Mr Hemingway lost his artworks and two-storey shop on Wood End Road, Armitage Bridge, to a blaze in January.
But now he has completed a ribbonback chair which he began in 2005.
The mahogany chair, to a 1754 design of Thomas Chippendale, suffered fire damage, but Mr Hemingway resurrected it.
The unfinished piece won the approval of internationally renowned carver Michael Painter at the recent British Wood Carvers’ Convention in Gloucester.
The fire may even increase the value of the chair, which is already expected to a significant sum.
Mr Hemingway has also won an Art Space 2000 World Web Award of Excellence for his website. He is set to become Carver of the Month in an American magazine in the autumn.
He says: “This fire might have actually done some good. Collectors like pieces which have a bit of a story behind them. “When Michael Painter gives you the thumbs-up it’s a real boost.
“I feel like I’m back on track. There’s everything to go for. I come from a big family and I’m used to getting knocked down, but I always get up with a smile. I’ll be looking back on this with a smile.”
Mr Hemingway started his carving career as an apprentice with the Huddersfield joinery firm of Taylor and Hobson, but set up his own cabinet-making business in 1968.
He then took an interest in the work of Chippendale and in the 1980s began work on his own intricate carved versions of Chippendale-style chairs. The chairs were known as ‘impossible chairs’ because they were so difficult to carve. They became an international success, selling for up to £100,000 each.
Mr Hemingway received an honorary PhD from the Cosmopolitan University in Missouri two years ago.
