Jenny Needham talks to Saltburn creative Dave O'Donnell about his work and how it's been influenced by his industrial Tees

GROWING up in Redcar, the bright lights and fiery furnaces of industrial Teesside were the backdrop to Dave O’Donnell’s formative years. His father worked in the beam mill at British Steel.

Now 37 and working out of Saltburn, Dave is an artist, his work rooted in his industrial heritage. Steel and light all feature in his pieces for a widening range of clients, but the small-scale illuminated retro and rusted signs he started out making are gradually being replaced by large-scale projects – commercial interiors, steel and light fabrication, public art installations and bespoke home pieces.

“I'm naturally moving into interiors and one-off art pieces as I get more experimental with my fabrication and processes,” he says. “I've got so much lined up – tables, mirrors and bespoke accent pieces are all on my to-do list. I've evolved my steel work to produce unique kitchen tops and fitted bars in copper-finished steel and have just been commissioned to create a steel and light sculpture for a high street in the Newcastle region. I’m experimenting with steely blue aluminium to create stylish interior pieces with cool lighting and I'm starting a neon-making course. There’s lots going on.”

To coincide with the new direction his work is taking, Dave decided to relaunch his business – formerly the Light Shack – as Dave O’Donnell Design. “My work is maturing, so the business needs a more grown-up name,” he explains.

Dave, who studied art and 3D design at Teesside University, worked in London for 11 years before returning to his roots. It was by chance that he landed in Saltburn and found himself in a community of like-minded creatives.

“I’d been out of the area for over a decade in the middle of a concrete jungle, so when I saw a place was available close to such stunning woodlands and coastline, I jumped at it,” he says. “It was only as I settled and began making friends that it became so apparent to me how much is going on here. It’s an exciting place for a sleepy seaside town.”

Dave sells some of his pieces at the town’s LillianDaph store and has a workshop nearby. A whole range of skills and techniques are needed to bring his pieces together. “There are very much two parts to this job - the design process, which involves coffee and sitting at my iMac or lightbox, then the workshop, which involves coffee and me misplacing tools every five minutes!”

Skills have been added along the way. A stint as a pipe fitter’s mate in London introduced him to the wonders of welding. “The ability to melt something as hard as steel opens up an unlimited amount of creative possibilities,” says Dave. “I fell in love with the process and it became a passion from that point on.” He’s learnt about wiring, soldering, riveting, patinating, and the ins and outs of ever-more sophisticated LEDs. “There are also some aspects of carpentry involved, something I’m doing more of as I explore furniture,” he adds.

Recent commissions have included a copper-finished steel bar top and splashbacks for The Sitting Room in Guisborough, art deco-style outdoor signage for the newly-opened Pitcher House in Redcar, and a 5ft aluminium arrow with fairground lights for a tattoo parlour in Hamburg, Germany. Visitors to Staithes Festival last year were greeted by a large rusted anchor on the bay and a neon angel at the bottom of the cliffs, both Dave’s work, and an art installation for Bedlington high street is nearing completion.

Weddings throughout the region have featured Dave’s work – he installed a 4ft-high illuminated Love sign at Danby Castle – and he makes lighting props for events companies. Smaller pieces – illuminated stars, letters and arrows for the house and steel hearts and anchors for the garden – can be bought on Etsy.

“I’m also working with Christina, who owns LillianDaph Store, to create some unique interior pieces,” says Dave, “There’s a slight art deco feel to the design stages and I’m thinking copper patinated finishes with darkened steel. The full range will hopefully consist of back-lit wall art, copper-finished tables, chairs and steel-framed mirrors. It’s an ever-evolving process, but I definitely think being brought up around those hard industrial landscapes shapes my thoughts when I’m creating and designing.”