THE link between wine making and furniture making may not be obvious, but when the furniture is made out of wine barrels, you can see how Allan Gledson made the transition.

After 10 years working on vineyards and wineries in Australia, Mr Gledson has returned home to the UK with a new venture – The Wine Barrel Furniture Company – and after only one year in operation is already preparing to expand into bigger premises.

Currently operating out of a workshop in Marston Business Park, in Tockwith, Mr Gledson refurbishes French oak wine barrels to create a range of homewares, ranging from drink cabinets and wine racks, to tables and chairs, and clocks and lighting.

The business, which ships products across the world, with customers in the US, Canada, Mauritius and Antigua, was born out of a chance DIY project for Mr Gledson’s garden.

He said: “I was a wine maker by trade, so was used to working with barrels. I knew how they worked and how to look after them, not really from an aesthetic point of view but in terms of structure and cleaning.

“After about seven years wine barrels become oak neutral, meaning they stop imparting oak flavour into the wine. The wineries no longer use them, so they sell them off.

“I initially bought a few to make some planters for my garden. A few friends then asked for some, then I had a go at making a table and it grew from there.

“I thought there might be a business opportunity here so I made a few tables and chairs and sold them through online auction sites.

“It took off really quickly, people were placing requests for certain items, and I cut my hours at the winery to three days a week. It was a real organic growth.”

Mr Gledson, originally from North Yorkshire, had moved to Australia in 2004 to work in the wine industry having studied wine after developing an interest through working in restaurants earlier in his career.

He said: “We moved to Australia because I wanted to make wine, rather than serve it. I got a job on a vineyard in Margaret River, in western Australia.

“It’s nice now to be doing something that’s completely different, but at the same time is still connected to wine.”

Mr Gledson moved back to the UK in January last year to be closer to his and his wife’s family, and after selling his Australian furniture business, set about recreating the success of the venture full time in England.

He now sources his barrels from France, before bringing them to the UK, where he dries them out at his workshop in Tockwith.

Mr Gledson said: “I’m very picky about the barrels I get, both from the wine point of view and the cooper’s branding and oak.

“I get in quite early in the wine making process, taking the barrels at around four to five years old.

“They are only held together by compression, there’s no glue. I dry them out and strip them back to the bare French oak.

“I use red wine barrels only as they have a great colour having been stained by five years of red wine, with most of the barrels coming from Bordeaux.

“Everything is made to order, and I’m already booked up for work until September, which is a great position to be in.

“I’ve got so many more ideas in my head that I want to do, and I’m always coming up with new ideas for designs.

“There are never two times the same, they will always come out slightly differently as the barrels all have their own character, especially in terms of the colour on the inside.”

The business has seen such success that this summer Mr Gledson will be moving The Wine Barrel Furniture Company to new premises within Marston Business Park, featuring space for his first showroom.

He said: “It’s a much bigger unit, with a 600sq ft show room that will be decked out with one of each of my products.

“The showroom will lead into a barrel hall, then on into my workshop. We’ll also be looking to expand the business by hosting groups for wine tasting and showing what we do in terms of the furniture.

“It’s fantastic how it’s taken off, and I look forward to growing the business further.”