New contemporary timber tapware by Melbourne based Oliver Maclatchy of Wood Melbourne.  Pictured above - 'Isla' handmade reclaimed timber bath spout. Styling - Stephanie Stamatis, Photo - Tara Pearce.

'Isla' handmade reclaimed timber bath spout by Oliver Maclatchy of Wood Melbourne.  Styling - Stephanie Stamatis, Photo - Tara Pearce.

'Kiri' handmade reclaimed timber bath spout  by Wood Melbourne.  Styling - Stephanie Stamatis, Photo - Tara Pearce.

Wood Melbourne is a new project from self confessed 'carpenter, builder, tinkerer and inventor' Oliver MacLatchy.  During a late night tinkering session in his timber workshop last year, Oliver invented these beautiful, functional handcrafted timber water spouts. It was, as they say, a 'lightbulb moment' !

Oliver has worked as a carpenter for 16 years.  The first 10 of those years were spent  working with his fathers' company, building rooftop apartments in the Melbourne CBD and surrounds. Over the past 6 years, Oliver has worked for himself on various smaller scale residential projects, including two shopfront dwellings in Melbourne's inner north.  It was one of these recent projects which first inspired his designs for timber tapware.

'In the last shopfront I did, I was using timber I had reclaimed from the original roof on the shop, and that's where the idea for the spouts came about' explains Oliver. 'I did some research and realised no one was making anything like it, so I went for it!'.

Wood Melbourne officially launched in February this year.  At this stage, Oliver's range includes just two spout designs, each handmade using reclaimed blackbutt timber in Oliver's Melbourne workshop.  As each piece is made by hand, they can be customised to almost any size. 'I really just make things and refine them until I love them, so my main influence is the timber' says Oliver. 'It's about having something that's very basic and simple but beautiful'.

Oliver is currently working on two other designs for bathroom fittings that he's in the process of registering. Two are timber products which should be ready for release around May, the other two are top secret concepts in development, but he assures us we'll be amongst the first to know! He has plans to open his own show room in West Brunswick in May / June, but in the meantime, his first two spout designs are available to buy in his online shop!

Designer /maker Oliver Maclatchy of Wood Melbourne in his workshop.  Styling - Stephanie Stamatis, Photo - Tara Pearce.

Designer /maker Oliver Maclatchy of Wood Melbourne at his Melbourne workshop.  Styling - Stephanie Stamatis, Photo - Tara Pearce.