Workshop
It all begins with an idea…
There is always a better thing to make and there is always a better way to make it, and it starts in the workshop.
Watermark chair
This continues the expedition to seek out ways to reuse the timber from pallets. I wanted to make a chair which had a much more unified appearance, as though it could have been molded rather than formed from an assembly of parts. With the watermark chair, I really wanted to conceal that the material even had a previous life.
A word about plywood
Birch plywood has been used by furniture manufacturers for more than 100 years. It is a fantasic product. The invasion of Ukraine drew the world’s attention to the fact that stocks of birch plywood come almost exclusively from the Russian Federation.
Russian birch plywood is now classified as a ‘conflict’ material and imports to the UK have rightly been stopped.
Italian and Spanish plywoods, made from poplar, are being seen as good alternatives. These boards are roughly half the weight of birch plywood but are definitely strong enough to be used in many of the same furniture applications.
When it comes to plywoods generally, there are several options to choose from, all with their own particular qualities. I am very happy to work in a wide variety of these materials and can supply samples of most.
Railcrate
Crates hanging from and sliding along a rail - this began as a one-off commission and is something I’ll be developing further. Like Colony shelving, this uses the voids between the crates as storage space.
