William Bayliss
William is a multi-award winning craftsman who started as an apprentice with us in July of 2015. From humble beginnings, William has gone on to become the fore-most craftsman of his generation.
William won “Open Champion” with his Aquarium Cabinet at the 2017 “Treasures in Timber” competition. He was runner up in the 2017 FIAA Apprentice of the Year awards and Silver medalist in the 2017 ACT/NSW World Skills competition. William was awarded the John Tiddy Memorial Prize in 2018 for the ACT/NSW region, as well a Apprentice of the Year 2018.
In May 2019, William won Open Champion at the $10,000 Wootha Prize for his Torrent Audio Cabinet in figured blackwood. At 20, William was by far the youngest maker to ever win the Wootha. The Wootha Prize is the richest annual woodworking prize in Australia and is part of the Maleny Wood Expo. The Wootha is judged on a combination of fine craftsmanship and original design. This exceptional achievement has brought William to the attention of the Australian woodworking community.
William was awarded a $5000 Fellowship to study for 6 weeks in January/February 2020 under Canadian Master Michael Fortune at the Centre for Fine Woodworking in Nelson, New Zealand. During this period, William made his extraordinary Cable Bay Cabinet.
In 2021, William took out Overall Winner as well as Winner in the category Tables, Chairs and Desks in Australian Wood Review’s Maker of the Year Awards with his Bunyjul Occasional Tables.
In 2023, took out the category Art and Objects in Australian Wood Review’s Maker of the Year Awards with his Wilcannia Cabinet.
William was a teaching assistant to Michael.C.Fortune in January/February 2024 at the Centre for Fine Woodworking. He made his second iteration of his Bunyjul series at that time.
William won the Furniture Category at the 2024 Wootha Prize with his Mundi Mundi Entrance Table.
William specialises in carcass pieces at Dunstone Design. If you order a cabinet from us, the chances are that William will make it.
“Evan, Will is magnificent! You have done an incredible thing for him. He is more than capable, great to work with and most important, at that age, passionate about furniture making. It’s truly an honour to work with him, I can’t thank you enough for the investment you have made in Will. He’s amazing now and will undoubtedly go on to great heights.”– Michael Fortune, 2020
