A blog by Jamie Wemyss about his projects and experiences as a student at the Chippendale International School of Furniture
When a piece of furniture is standing in front of you in its physical form, having evolved from only a seed in your brain, it fills you with an enormous sense of gratification. I have just completed my second term and have just experienced that sense of gratification for the second time…
Garry Macfarlane describes how he made an Art Deco dressing table while a student at the Chippendale International School of Furniture in Scotland.
Arriving for my second term at the Chippendale International School of Furniture, we were informed that we were to make a piece of veneered furniture. Ideally, we should think our design almost impossible to make and take the opportunity to introduce challenging features like curves into the design. The idea was to enhance our learning experience as much as possible. It was a perfect opportunity to indulge my interest in Art Deco.
After careful consideration I decided to make a ladies dressing table as I thought I stood a good chance of selling this at the end of year student exhibition. I had seen a number of examples of Art Deco style dressing tables with their curved edges, oversized mirrors and beautiful veneers, allowing me to use many of the shapes that the style is renowned for.
A blog by Matthew Meyerhoff, a student at the Chippendale International School of Furniture
Born in Scotland, then brought up in Canada before moving to Dubai, Matthew Meyerhoff previously worked as a simulator pilot in Dubai for Serco. The work may sound exciting but it involved sitting down at a computer all day.
Matthew says that he chose to learn furniture making and woodworking because he doesn’t want to work in an office again:
Award winning Anselm Fraser Furniture, which runs alongside the Chippendale International School of Furniture, completed a bespoke kitchen installation for a client just in time for Christmas. The furniture design and furniture restoration business has created and installed more than 80 bespoke kitchens over the years.
However, this installation was different…
UK service men and women from the Army, Navy and RAF may now qualify for a grant of £1,000 to £2,000 towards their Chippendale International School of Furniture fees, because the Furniture School is now an Approved Learning Provider under the MOD’s Enhanced Learning Credit (ELC) Scheme.
“I’m looking forward to inviting more retired or redundant members of the Armed Forces onto our 9 month furniture making course,” says Anselm Fraser, the Furniture School Principal.
Chippendale School of Furniture’s Anselm Fraser fuses big sky thinking with commercial savvy
Main part of a feature published in Good Woodworking in Growth Rings in October 2011. Reproduced with thanks. Words: Darren Loucaides. Photos: Dave Roberts.
As mist settles on the hills surrounding this secluded spot in Gifford, 25 miles east of Edinburgh, it feels like we’ve happened upon a deserted country house. Chippendale International School of Furniture is out for summer, and stalking around its exhibition hall, quiet but for our footfall thundering across the rugged floorboards, the atmosphere is eerie. Perhaps we’re hearing distant echoes, glimpses of movement just beyond our vision – hints of the life that usually fills the place.
