IF you are a craftsman working with one of the world's rarest woods is both a joy and a responsibility.

It's something award-winning furniture maker Joshua Johansen is well aware of.

That's because the wood - Koa - is from his native Hawaii and he grew up fashioning offcuts of it from his grandfather's saw mill knowing it was once reserved exclusively for royalty.

He also uses native English Rippled Sycamore and now he's exhibiting his work in Lyme Regis.

Joshua said: "Koa is part of the Acacia family of trees. It is recognized as one of the finest woods in the world due to its exceptional colour and grain, with figured Koa displaying an almost 3d appearance.

"Curly Koa furniture has never been available to purchase in the UK before, with the wood being commercially unavailable.

"In ancient Hawaii, Koa wood was harvested exclusively for Hawaiian royalty. By the turn of the century, Koa was called the Hawaiian Mahogany and used extensively by the upper class for furniture, staircases and other woodworks.

"Today Koa continues to be a widely recognized symbol of prestige and is also coveted by luthiers for its tonal properties and exceptional beauty.

"Sadly it is now one of the rarest woods due to over ranching and lack of reforestation programmes."

From an early age, Joshua would make things from small off-cuts of wood that he would find in the family mill and this grew into a passion for working with wood.

He eventually took over the family business and set up his own furniture making business selling bespoke furniture to the ultra-wealthy second home owners who lived on the Kohala Coast.

Then Joshua married an Englishwoman Elaine whose homesickness got so bad when their daughter was born the family decided to move Monkton Wild in 2015.

He set up his own workshop in Axminster and is about to exhibit his work in Lyme Regis Town Mill.

He said: "As a craftsperson, there is nothing more gratifying than when a person loves your work enough to place it in their home. Whatever I earn from my work, while greatly appreciated, is transient but the object I have made will hopefully be around long after I am gone.

“The Koa wood that I work with is often several hundred years old, and I feel a responsibility to honour the wood and craft every piece with absolute focus, love and care and honoring the materials that I use.

“England is such an inspiring place for a craftsperson - it is so rich with history and I have loved working with the very beautiful native English woods and it is exciting to be able to share some of my homeland in the exhibition.”

When he is not making furniture, Joshua also crafts bespoke shepherd huts.

He added: “I fell in love with the huts while researching England in Hawaii, and I was moved by their history and beauty. I am currently making a 20ft hut complete with bathroom and kitchen which affords the user a little more luxury than the shepherds of old had."

His exhibition is on until November 23 in the Malt House Gallery, Lyme Regis.

Joshua’s work can be viewed online at joshuarosewoodwork.com and joshuaroseshepherdhuts.co.uk