Neil Pace O'Shea is a 33 year-old product designer, maker and MCAST lecturer who's handmade wooden Christmas trees are catching the eye of design lovers. The trees are made using steam-bent Ash wood and not a shred of plastic in sight! They're held together without the use of nails, and are a stylishly minimal Christmas decoration that can be used year after year. The trees' petite size makes them ideal for displaying your personal favourite selection of precious baubles, but they're cool enough to leave as they are! In fact, Neil himself prefers the wooden tree bare, without any adornments or lights, to be appreciated as a piece of contemporary sculpture.
The wooden Christmas tree falls under the branch (excuse the pun!) of products created for The Floating Project, which is Neil's company that started off two and a half years ago with the making of a functional plywood kayak, which received a lot of praise and media attention, and was featured at Malta Design Week. The idea for a Christmas tree came about when he was participating in a Christmas market, and his wife suggested that they should create some Christmas-specific products next time around. From there, the couple bounced ideas off each other and eventually came up with a prototype which evolved into the minimal product we see today. After a lot of testing in the workshop, Neil's trees were put on the local market last year, starting off at a smaller size, and have now grown into the current 75cm beauties.
"The making process is all about problem solving", Neil tells GuideMeMalta. "The process behind the scenes is never seen, but there are a lot of factors that need to be considered, from balance to cost efficiency" he continues. The trees cannot be mass produced, since they are completely handmade with love, and are objects to treasure and appreciate year after year. They're the perfect Christmas tree for art, interiors and architecture aficionados!
The minimal wooden trees have received great feedback so far, after they've been spotted on social media, which is The Floating Project's main marketing tool. They will be exhibited as part of a jewellery exhibition in Valletta by master filigree designer Kevin Attard, where they will be used as 3D displays for intricate silver earrings as a minimal background to offset the detailed pieces.
From there, they will also feature at Rabat's raved about artisanal Christmas Market Village - Natales Notabilis - which will be held on the 11th to the 15th of December, amongst other crafty sellers and selected high-end food stalls. The Christmas market is in its third year and gets super busy, so if you're after one of Neil's trees, it's best to make a beeline for his stall, where he'll also be selling other handmade wooden products he's designed, such as a funky desk organiser and sleek pencil holders - the perfect gift for the designer in your life!
We don't know about you, but we've got our hearts set on a Christmas tree by The Floating Project. All we need now is a swanky Valletta loft apartment.