Originally apprenticed to my father as a decorator, whose family have been associated with the trade for generations, attending Cork Regional Technical College for specialist training where I became interested in stencils. I moved to London in 1988, working on interiors initially before securing a position as a scenic painter at the B.B.C., where I stayed until 1997.

In 1994 I took some leave from the B.B.C. to work on my book “Decorating with Stencils”, which was published by Weidenfeld and Nicholson in 1995 along with international co-editions. In 1997 I returned to university pursuing film and tv design at Wimbledon School of Art graduating in 2000.

I have been working freelance since then on numerous film and tv projects, with wallpaper and pattern design my constant passion. I am a committee member of the wallpaper history society which I have been a member of since 1992. I lecture on both wallpaper and film design.