Marcus Rowan has been welding things for as long as he can remember. Born in Gateshead, England—a region known for its iron and steel industry—the head metalworker at Novocastrian grew up surrounded by makers and engineers. “My grandad worked at an engineering company (owned by another family member), and when I visited him as a child, he’d let me weld pieces of metal together,” he tells Business of Home.
As a young adult, Rowan moved to Hebburn, a town on the River Tyne that’s home to several shipyards, where he immersed himself in metalwork and fabrication. He spent six years working for MKW, a former engineering company that specialized in equipment for the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence, before moving to Newcastle to take a job at British Engines. “After a few years, I left that job to work for a specialty welding company, which is where I learned how to fabricate furniture,” he says.
In 2017, he joined Novocastrian, a family-owned metal fabrication studio founded by architect and interior designer Richy Almond. “The first product I worked on was the Athwart dining table,” says the metalsmith. “It’s still in our collection, and remains one of my favorite pieces to this day.”
Each Novocastrian creation is meticulously handcrafted inside the brand’s 6,000-square-foot workshop in Washington, England, where Rowan and his team employ a mix of time-honored techniques to forge metal-, wood- and stone-based furnishings. “We have developed our own jigs to help bend the materials into complex shapes,” he explains. “We also craft our own patinas, making them difficult to replicate, and specialize in brass fabrication—a material that’s notoriously difficult to weld.”
The bulk of the brand’s heirloom-quality designs pay homage to the North East region, an area celebrated for its rich industrial heritage. For instance, the Staiths I shelving unit, a clean-lined bookcase rendered in black patinated steel, draws inspiration from the 18th century coal-loading structures found along the River Tyne. “The goal was to create something that was slim yet strong, like the coal staithes,” he says. “We’ve gone on to make a version with brass shelves, and ones composed of solid bronze that are custom-curved to follow the contours of a client’s room.”
Materiality reigns supreme in Rowan’s work, which includes everything from consoles and game tables to mirrors and decor objects crafted in brass, bronze and stainless steel, as well as a selection of rare slates, stones and marbles sourced from around the British Isles. “Brass is our most popular material type, but we are not limited in our range,” he says. “I have vast experience with exotic materials throughout my career, and will take on the challenge when given.”
In April, Novocastrian unveiled its inaugural lighting collection, Insulator. It features pendants, wall lights and a table lamp punctuated by pressed glass shades and ribbed silhouettes modeled after its namesakes: the small, grooved pieces that help support rail infrastructure. “The complex metal elements of each piece are completed on a CNC machine before being assembled and finished by hand,” says the metalworker.
Currently hard at work on an assortment of new furniture designs for the brand, Rowan is looking forward to what the future holds. “I am in my eighth year at Novocastrian, and never imagined the company would grow as fast as it has,” he says. “We are a very creative group who are always floating ideas in an effort to keep pushing forward and improve.”
If you want to learn more about Marcus Rowan, visit Novocastrian’s website or Instagram.
