A FORMER fell running champion has been inspired by the hills surrounding his Yorkshire Dales home to start a new bespoke furniture making business.

Tom Addison is creating pieces of work based on places around his home close to Askrigg, near Hawes in Wensleydale.

One item of furniture – a console hall table – he has just completed captures the profile of the iconic hill Addlebrough which he can see across the fields from his living room window. He has also produced an Ellerkin lamp table and a Sedbergh coffee table.

Of the Addlebrough table, he said: “This table evokes the fell’s recognisable landscape profile with its sweeping, curved tapered legs with tapered chamfers on each edge.”

Tom trained for six years at the prestigious Peter Hall & Sons workshop in the Lake District village of Staveley and learnt traditional furniture making techniques, as well as gaining valuable knowledge about design and construction. More recently he has been working for Castle Timber Buildings in joinery and construction.

“With the experience gained, I decided to set up my own furniture making workshop and studio at my home,’’ said the 31-year-old father-of-one, who was crowned English fell running champion in 2014. “I now strive to design and make fresh, inspiring and beautiful pieces of furniture with quality and craftsmanship at the heart. I fell in love with hills and mountains when I was running competitively and when I moved to Wensleydale after getting married in July 2018 I was struck by the beauty of the hills that surround my home and wanted to capture some of their character in the furniture that I have started making.

“I am now lucky to live and work in the Dales and I take great pleasure in getting out into the hills with my family and dog, whether it’s running or walking and I find the scenery and peace and quiet very inspiring for my furniture designing.”

Mr Addison, who has represented England and Great Britain in mountain running, said: “My running has allowed me to travel to some of the most beautiful parts of the world experiencing different cultures and new landscapes, which has really shaped and influenced my life.’’

David Pool, of Lower Wensleydale Business Network, welcomed the new business to the area. “To see our young people with their new and innovative ideas starting new businesses is just what the UK and North Yorkshire needs as we emerge from the Covid pandemic,” he said. “Tom Addison Fine Furniture is exactly what our local economy needs, a craftsman based in the Dales with a young family putting his passion and skill for designing and making bespoke furniture into a new business.”

“ The Lower Wensleydale Business Network, as part of our drive to support emerging businesses in our area, is delighted to have been associated with this new business.”