Our Practice
Matthias Garn + Partner is a specialist heritage conservation practice led by Matthias Garn and Kibby Schaefer.
Our team brings together conservators and skilled craftspeople, with other specialist trades brought in where the work requires them. We work collaboratively, drawing on the knowledge and experience needed for each building and project.
What We Do
Our work ranges from individual sculptures and monuments to complex programmes of conservation and repair on historic buildings.
Stonemasonry is at the core of our practice, but we work across stone, wood, clay and plaster, using traditional craft skills alongside conservation knowledge and experience. Projects may involve a single object or repair, or bring together different crafts and specialists to address a building as a whole.
Wolds Workshop
Our practice is both a working conservation workshop and a place of learning. Alongside our project work, we provide training and outreach, giving people the opportunity to learn about traditional craft through materials, tools and making.
We work with schools, colleges, heritage organisations and craftspeople to share skills and encourage a better understanding of how historic buildings were made and how they are cared for.
Team
Who We Are
Kibby trained in architectural woodcarving at the City & Guilds of London Art School before joining Dick Reid’s workshop in 2001 and Matthias Garn + Partner in 2006. She holds a BA from Reed College and an MSc from the University of Edinburgh. Her practice spans carving, drawing, clay modelling, conservation and heritage education, and she is Chair of the York Consortium for Craft and Conservation.
Will is a stonemason, fixer mason and stonecarver who holds an NVQ Level 3 in Banker Masonry and an ND in Design and Making from York College. He has been with Matthias Garn + Partner for over six years and is a highly skilled and versatile craftsperson, working across complex conservation projects in the workshop and on site, including responsibility for running projects.
David is a Master Stonemason and fixer mason who has been with Matthias Garn + Partner for over ten years. He has extensive experience in complex conservation masonry, both in the workshop and on site. He holds the German qualifications of Steinmetz und Steinbildhauermeister, Steintechniker and Restaurator im Steinmetzhandwerk, together with an NVQ Level 6.
Theo trained with the Compagnons du Devoir and is a stonemason, fixer mason and stonecarver. He has been with Matthias Garn + Partner for over ten years and is a highly skilled workshop mason and carver, working across architectural masonry, conservation and carving.
Tom is a qualified stonemason, trained through the National Trust in partnership with York College (Level 2) and the Cathedral Workshop Fellowship at Chester Cathedral (Level 3). He also holds a BSc in Chemistry from Manchester Metropolitan University and works across the conservation and repair of historic masonry, both in the workshop and on site.
Job is a stonemason and fixer mason, working both in the workshop and on site. He holds an Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education Level 2 qualification in Banker Stonemasonry, and he is currently working towards his NVQ Level 3 in Banker and Fixing Masonry.
Waldo is the workshop’s apprentice stonemason. He joined Matthias Garn + Partner in 2025 and is gaining experience across a wide range of conservation projects, both in the workshop and on site.
Sarah is a highly skilled labourer and an experienced member of the site team. She works across a wide range of conservation projects, supporting the masons with practical site work and organisation.