Sculptor and craftsman in wood, born in Helsby, Cheshire, who worked mainly on commission. He studied at Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham and Glasgow School of Art, graduating in sculpture. Stead won a travelling scholarship in 1975 and seven years later a Scottish Development Agency Crafts Fellowship. Because of his specially designed furniture and activities such as tree replanting and the establishment of a community plantation on the Scottish Borders, Stead was the subject of several television films. Showed at such venues as Scottish Craft Centre and Collins Gallery in Glasgow; also widely on the continent and in America; and had first sculpture show at Compass Gallery, Glasgow, in 1990, another at Ancrum Gallery, Ancrum, 1992. Giles Sutherland collaborated with Stead to produce Explorations in Wood; the furniture and sculpture of Tim Stead, published in 1993.