• Derek Calderwood’s Lautissimum sideboard in situ at the 2023 Wootha Prize exhibition. Judged overall Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize winner
    Derek Calderwood’s Lautissimum sideboard in situ at the 2023 Wootha Prize exhibition. Judged overall Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize winner
  • Robert Howard, Lily Light, Sculpture category winner
    Robert Howard, Lily Light, Sculpture category winner
  • Hape Kiddle, Storm Boy, Tiny Treasures category winner
    Hape Kiddle, Storm Boy, Tiny Treasures category winner
  • Ian Wilkie Tiny Treasure Trio, spalted mango, jacaranda from backyard trees, Qld maple.
    Ian Wilkie Tiny Treasure Trio, spalted mango, jacaranda from backyard trees, Qld maple.
  • Kaz Depczynski, Enchanting Dove Tail, western red cedar. ‘A very challenging work that required a lot of attention to detail.’
    Kaz Depczynski, Enchanting Dove Tail, western red cedar. ‘A very challenging work that required a lot of attention to detail.’
  • Raf Nathan, Console 7, Huon pine, blackwood
    Raf Nathan, Console 7, Huon pine, blackwood
  • Sara Smith, Beacon, recycled blackwood. The design is inspired by the Cape Otway lighthouse. Named ‘Beacon of Hope’ it was built in 1848 it is the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Australian mainland. My hope for the future is that we can maintain our beautiful native forests for generations to come.’
    Sara Smith, Beacon, recycled blackwood. The design is inspired by the Cape Otway lighthouse. Named ‘Beacon of Hope’ it was built in 1848 it is the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Australian mainland. My hope for the future is that we can maintain our beautiful native forests for generations to come.’
  • Victor Robba, Gateway, silver quandong, tiger myrtle veneer, plywood. ‘A contrasting dovetail key in one of the petals suggests a ‘key’ as an unlocking device.’
    Victor Robba, Gateway, silver quandong, tiger myrtle veneer, plywood. ‘A contrasting dovetail key in one of the petals suggests a ‘key’ as an unlocking device.’
  • Trevor Irvine, Peace Dove Brooch, white beech
    Trevor Irvine, Peace Dove Brooch, white beech
  • Simon Begg, Dovetail German ring turning, camphor laurel. ‘German ring turning is a unique process where the shape revealed is not seen in the making process until the ring is cut in half.’
    Simon Begg, Dovetail German ring turning, camphor laurel. ‘German ring turning is a unique process where the shape revealed is not seen in the making process until the ring is cut in half.’
  • Garan Hale, Stella (detail of inlayed marquetry), Furniture category winner
    Garan Hale, Stella (detail of inlayed marquetry), Furniture category winner
  • Garan Hale, Stella, Furniture category winner
    Garan Hale, Stella, Furniture category winner
  • Richard Vaughan, Waves of Sleep, Qld maple, made with blind mitred dovetails and sliding dovetails
    Richard Vaughan, Waves of Sleep, Qld maple, made with blind mitred dovetails and sliding dovetails
  • Guy Breay with his Wootha Prize entry, The Enchantress, sculpted from budgeroo
    Guy Breay with his Wootha Prize entry, The Enchantress, sculpted from budgeroo
  • Charlie Jewkes, Eva Table, apple gum, silver quandong and Queensland maple
    Charlie Jewkes, Eva Table, apple gum, silver quandong and Queensland maple
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Winning the Wootha: talking to $10k winner Derek Calderwood

2 May 2023
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‘It’s only my third furniture piece!’, said Derek Calderwood, Brisbane engineer and relative newcomer to woodworking. Being judged winner of the $10,000 Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize felt like a lottery win for Derek, however thousands of people who viewed his work last weekend at the Maleny Wood Expo agreed with the judges that it was a first prize-winning effort.

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Derek Calderwood, overall 2023 Sunshine Coast Wootha Prize winner

Derek said his Lautissimum sideboard in Queensland maple was ‘built as a commission for my wife to remove the kids homework and craft equipment from our dining table’. Named after the Latin Lautus, (meaning clean, elegant and refined) the cabinet is made from Qld maple, along with silver ash, bendee and a good deal of mid-century inspiration. ‘The carcase is made from solid maple which was resawn and bookmatched from a single, very large board’, he said. ‘It was my first time cutting half blind dovetails – I had watched a YouTube video and luckily they worked out.’

By day Derek works as a chemical engineer, which he admits has ‘nothing to do with woodwork’. ‘About five years ago I got interested in woodwork. I built a coffee table, then a bench for the workshop and now a whiskey cabinet. I’ve never had a lesson but did year 10 manual arts and grew up on a farm. Basically woodwork is about fixing problems and getting things to look how you want.’

Watching videos and reading books continue to round out the knowledge of this self-taught woodworker. Working from his double garage where ‘there’s no room for cars’, Derek now has a shopping list of items to be made for the house. If that was Derek’s third piece, the sky’s the limit!

The gallery above shows some of the other fantastic work presented at this year’s Wootha Prize exhibition. The exhibition is the jewel in the crown of the annual Maleny Wood Expo which this year drew huge crowds who flocked to enjoy a diverse range of wood related displays and demonstrations.

Click on the images to see larger views and read credits.

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