Most pieces of furniture are designed for one purpose, so it’s always exciting when a beautifully-constructed piece has multi-functionality built into it.
For Chris Daborn, originally from Surrey, it’s been to create a settle that doubles up as a table, a piece of functional art made from “cat’s paw” oak and sycamore.
“Cat’s paw” oak, or pippy oak, is so named because of the small knots and knot clusters that cover the timber board which resemble a cat’s paws.
Before coming to the school, Chris worked in IT for a major public sector organisation in Norfolk, with a speciality in geographic information systems.
His table-settle has both form and function, combining a double purpose with design flourishes that include laser engraving on the sycamore drawer bottoms.
Chris and his wife are now returning to Norfolk to set up 4th Dimension Furniture.