David Hall is a woodworker who knows precisely what he wants to do after graduation. He’s already bought a farmhouse and outbuildings in rural Aberdeenshire which he intends to convert into a studio and workshop. His new business will specialise in making fine furniture from old whisky barrels. It’s an idea that will give his …
While this week has all been about learning the delicate skills involved in making a Windsor chair, our restoration business has also been busy. It’s a side of the Chippendale school that’s very important because it allows us to maintain a core of expertise within the school, and gives students hands-on experience in learning different …
It’s a bench that’s been made by many hands and is now a fitting memorial to one of the Chippendale school’s longest-standing members of staff who died recently. Isobel Edgar, the school’s student welfare officer, had worked with the Chippendale team for 25 years. The Redwood bench is our way of paying tribute to her …
This week our school has been transformed into a house of Windsor. Or, putting it a different way, our professional course students are learning how to make a Windsor chair. They work in teams of four to make their chairs, under the expert guidance of Tom Thackray and Stephen Langton. Tom is a veteran of …
Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes, but the important thing is to recognise it when you see it. Tom Smyth took inspiration for his steam-bent oak garden bench from work he carried out on the roof of a listed 400-year-old timber framed barn in Hampshire. The roofing project might not seem similar to a …
One of the great things about the Chippendale school is that we have incubation space into which graduates can move and set up their own businesses.
It means that students can avoid the cost of buying machinery while negotiating the early months or years of self-employment.
It’s a route that was taken by Ewan Ogilvie when he graduated in 2013, although he’s now moved into his own workshop nearby.
