SIMON THOMAS PIRIE - Key Persons


Bridget Pirie

Job Titles:
  • Director
Bridget became a director in 2007 but was effectively a ‘sleeping' partner until 2015 when she left her 20 year career as a teacher in order to spend more time with the family and to contribute more directly to the running of the business. She now fills the roles of bookkeeper, office administrator and marketing director, strictly during school hours of course! The rest of her day is spent ferrying children to and from various clubs and activities and making sure homework is done and mouths are fed.

Guild Mark

Job Titles:
  • Design

James Martin

James is the most recent addition to the team here at Simon Thomas Pirie Ltd. James first contacted us for a job for some years before a position finally came available and so when it was offered to him he jumped at the chance. In between that first contact and getting a bench with us he completed the renowned furniture course at the Lyme Regis Boat Building Academy. James has settled into the team incredibly well and is already making himself indispensible. Not only is the standard of his work of the highest quality, he also makes a fine up of coffee! We're looking forward to welcoming another STP baby for James and his wife, Philly, in the Spring.

John Beaves

Job Titles:
  • Director
John joined Simon Thomas Pirie in 2000 after completing the renowned HND Furniture Course at Buckinghamshire University. He became a director of Simon Thomas Pirie Ltd in 2007. An experienced cabinet maker with an eye for detail, John still spends time ‘on the bench' however much of his role now focuses on the management of what goes through the workshops at Briantspuddle; John schedules projects and organizes the making and fitting teams.

Michael Smith

Job Titles:
  • Lead Maker
Michael Smith became part of the team in 2007 and has become our lead maker. He is ‘a natural born cabinet maker' with the skills, diligence and creative confidence of someone twice his age. Michael loves nothing more than a technically challenging project, he loves problem solving on the bench and is happiest when he's very busy. Michael is a keen cyclist and it is not uncommon for him to cycle the 20 miles to work - and home again!

Simon Pirie - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Creative Director
  • Founding Director
Simon is the creative director but also an accomplished furniture maker. His role is largely client facing so it is Simon that will be responsible the early stages of most projects, including design and costing. He originally trained as a sculptor and has a first degree in Fine Art, but then found his real niche when he enrolled at Hooke Park College, part of John Makepeace's Parnham Trust. It was at this experimental college in the woods where he developed his making and design skills, but also a deep understanding of forestry and environmental issues. He left Hooke with Masters Degree in Forest Products, Design and Manufacture. He is a visiting design lecturer at further and higher education levels and has chaired the boards of Walford Mill Crafts and Dorset Visual Arts.

Tom Cornick

Job Titles:
  • Staff Member
Tom came to us for a short period of work experience while studying for an A level in Design. Simon was impressed with Tom's dedication, tenacity and talent and suggested that he might consider an apprenticeship here at Simon Thomas Pirie. For Tom, meeting Simon and seeing the workshop opened his eyes to the possibility of following in both his grandfathers' footsteps; one having been a joiner and the other a carpenter. The opportunity to complete an apprenticeship working with our talented team of designers and makers felt like a natural progression and he embraced it enthusiastically. Tom completed his apprenticeship with us in 2017 and is now our first home grown, fully-fledged cabinet maker.