A START up fine furniture making business that makes hand-crafted wooden and silk boxes inspired by the wonders of the dark skies, currently being celebrated in the Yorkshire Dales, has had a stellar first year.

Talented Tom Addison, a former pupil from Kirkbie Kendal School, has had a meteoric first 12 months creating furniture in the workshop attached to his home, near Askrigg, and footage of him at work on the Buckden boxes has had an astronomical 2.8 million views and more than 56,000 'likes' on his Instagram platform @tomaddisonfinefurniture.

The number of online followers he has got since launching in August 2021 has gone into orbit after he shared clips of himself showcasing his carpentry and chiselling skills and Tom is over the moon about the interest being shown in his fledgling business from across the globe.

His work is regularly seen by more than 30,000 online followers in the USA, Asia and Europe.

For the popular Buckden box Tom took inspiration from the inky night sky and some of the awesome heavenly events he can see from his Wensleydale home on a clear night. He has collaborated on the keep safe box with textile designer Rachel Stirr of Bernie & Blue.

The luxury handcrafted boxes that will light up any home feature a shooting star design on the lid. The silk interior is inspired by the aurora borealis and some of the natural forms, textures and patterns that can be seen from outer space along with polished solid brass fittings.

Tom, a father-of-two and a former English fell running champion, said it was crazy to think how many people had viewed him at work in his humble workshop.

Another video of him hand planing the curved surface on the pedestals of a one-of-a-kind dining table with benches has been viewed by 3.8 million people and had 45,000 likes. The table has been delivered to a client who lives in central London.

He said commissioning bespoke handcrafted furniture can be expensive and he wanted to share videos of the intricate working processes that goes into creating unique pieces that have also been inspired by the landscape surrounding his home.

''It is great to know that people worldwide enjoy watching these traditional methods in practice,'' said Tom, who learnt his trade at the prestigious Peter Hall & Sons workshop in the Lake District village of Staveley.

''I am so fortunate to live and work in the Dales. I think most natural and manmade landscapes can inspire fresh contemporary pieces of furniture. It is a pleasure to work with customers to bring in recognisable features into their very own pieces such as the Ribblesdale Desk and the Barbican Dining Table. It brings so much joy and memories to my clients which means a huge amount to me as furniture designer and maker.”