A new year doesn’t always bring with it new trends, but January does provide an ideal time to look at and consider the shifts and swings of what’s ‘current’ in the woodworking world. Trends are by no means prescriptive at the Chippendale School, where every student is encouraged to find their own signature style – …
For new woodworkers and furniture makers just starting out, there are so many questions to answer and potential pitfalls to navigate – one of the most obvious (and most important!) is where to source your wood, and how to go about it. The simple questions are often the vital ones, and there’s nothing more important …
How to buy wood for your next fine furniture project Read More »
You’ve lovingly perfected your woodworking skills, put in the hours in the workshop, and finessed your style – it’s finally time to start selling your furniture! For many new owners of furniture making businesses, how to price furniture will be first on your list of queries. It’s vital that you cost your work fairly to …
For many, a furniture making career feels like a distant dream. Although they have a passion for woodwork and design, many would-be woodworkers don’t realise that furniture making is a viable career option.
In the last of his series of articles on modern woodworking, Anselm Fraser, principal of the Chippendale International School of Furniture, looks at the thorny issue of how to price bespoke furniture. Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde, the 19th century playwright, would have understood the problem completely. In his play, Lady Windermere’s Fan, he writes …
A value for everything, and the cost of selling nothing Read More »
The Chippendale International School of Furniture, half an hour from Edinburgh, is situated in rolling East Lothian countryside close to fantastic mature forests of oak, elm, lime, ash, chestnut, sycamore and beech trees; an environment with all the raw materials needed to make flawless furniture.
“We teach students on our nine month course to plant a tree, choose a tree, fell it and plank it,” says Anselm Fraser, Chippendale Furniture School Principal.
“There is much more to selecting a good tree for furniture making than you might think. You need to understand the effects of shrinkage, defects in the wood and warp.”
