Chippendale Alumni Blog Archives - Chippendale School of Furniture

How the Chippendale School supports international students

The clue is in our name – at the Chippendale International School of Furniture, we welcome students from around the world to our magical corner of East Lothian.

Every year, around half of our Professional Course students come from overseas, so we understand the unique challenges they face, from finding suitable accommodation to battling homesickness. We try to make the transition easy from the off, even offering a special travel bursary to help with the costs of relocating to Scotland.

We sat down with school principal Tom Fraser to shed light on how we support international students when they come to study at our furniture making school.

The Rise of Slow Furniture: Why Sustainable and Ethical Design is the Future

From food to fashion and even furniture, there has been a noticeable shift in consumer shopping habits in the past few years. A Deloitte study found that shoppers are more socially conscious – reducing the number of new purchases and, when they do buy new, are now more inclined to choose brands based on their sustainability and ethical practices.

This shift can be attributed to the “slow living” movement which, according to Google’s Culture and Trends team, took off during the pandemic, with a rise in people searching for this term online. ‘Slow living’ means to live with intention and mindfulness, prioritising ethics. This has also manifested in the design world, with independent creators and even large brands (seemingly) concerned with the problem of overproduction and overconsumption.

As the world becomes more aware of the impact mass consumption has on the environment, the slow furniture movement is gaining momentum. In this blog, we explore why embracing this new era of furniture design is not only good for the planet, but for the soul too…

Life after the Professional Course: Katie Richter’s woodworking journey so far

For nearly 40 years, the Chippendale School has welcomed students to our workshops with hopes of turning their dreams of starting fine furniture making careers into a reality.

Whether it’s someone straight out of university who’s had a change of heart, or a mid-life career changer looking for a new challenge, our students each have a unique backstory and all share a love of woodworking.

Katie Richter is a graduate from our 2022/23 Professional Course. After leaving a demanding job, Katie wanted to pursue woodworking so she could reclaim a work-life balance while doing something she loved.

We spoke to Katie to find out why furniture making is her passion and how she has found life since graduating from our school.

How I Made it… Frazer A Reid, FAR Cabinet Makers

The Chippendale School has welcomed hundreds of students from around the world through its workshop doors. We are proud to have supported the careers of so many woodworkers from the start of their journeys, right up to setting up their own businesses.

Frazer A Reid set up FAR Cabinet Makers and Far Wooden Surfboards after studying at Chippendale School. He now combines his two big passions in life – woodworking and surfing – and gets to do what he loves every day.

Read on to find out more about this Fife-based maker’s journey into furniture making and life after Chippendale…

Manic table

Good furniture design can simply be about making something that is entirely functional.

Great furniture design is about injecting that extra bit of creativity that turns the ordinary into something absolutely bespoke.

That’s what Matthew McGlone, originally from Manchester but long-time resident of Scotland, has achieved with his elm and stained oak side table.

It was completed after “three weeks of manic work” – and, as far as we’re concerned, it was three weeks well spent!

Matthew has incorporated sinuous and dramatic gaps down each of the side table’s doors.

It’s a design flourish that gives the piece originality and dollops of character. It echoes the design of a table he previously made.

Matthew is someone who has had a long-term fascination with wood. It’s an interest that goes back to a childhood spent bush-crafting in woods, and fashioning spoons from small pieces of wood.

He’s also something of a wordsmith, with a degree in English Literature from the University of St Andrews. He also has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Stirling.

Wild Wood Furniture

He’s planning is to set up his business, Wild Wood Furniture, from incubation space at the school.

These workshop spaces allow graduates to start up for themselves, with full access to the school’s equipment and machinery.

We’ve also recruited Ben Dawson, the internationally-renowned furniture designer and maker, to the school as Design Tutor. He’ll have a supporting role to help our incubation entrepreneurs find their feet.

It’s a level of support unique to the Chippendale school, and our commitment to help alumni as much as we can.

Ben’s career as a furniture designer and maker spans five decades. He’s worked internationally for corporate, public, institutional and private clients.

A graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, he won The Andrew Grant Postgraduate Scholarship and The Andrew Grant Travelling Scholarship.

Ben is also a Fellow of The Royal Society of Arts, Freeman of The City of London, and Liveryman of The Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers.

Limited edition Gomo chaise longue hand crafted by Chippendale graduate

It’s an absolutely unique chaise longue. Contemporary, slender and amazingly comfortable. It also represents the very best of British woodworking craftsmanship and high-end Portuguese design.

The Gomo, of which only 36 will be made, costs £6,000 and is crafted from ash and American black walnut. It was recently exhibited at the Scottish Furniture Makers’ Association summer exhibition.

It’s the result of a collaboration between Uchnops™, an international design brand, and Alasdair Easton of Organic Geometry, both based in East Lothian, near Edinburgh.

Alasdair is a graduate of the renowned Chippendale International School of Furniture, and his company is still based at the school – which offers its students workshop space to develop their businesses after graduation.

Alasdair is a Scottish Furniture Makers’ Association award winner, whose work has been exhibited across the UK, including the London Design Festival, Clerkenwell Design Week, and SFMA exhibitions in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Uchnops™ is a new design brand, initially specialising in house-wares and furniture, but which intends to grow into a complete high-end product design brand with an international clientele.

“The Gomo is beautifully crafted and is being made in very limited numbers. It will find a ready market among discerning collectors of modern furniture worldwide,” said Alasdair. The Gomo chaise longue is available from www.uchnops.co.uk .

Gomo in Portuguese means “segment” – as in a segment of orange, and reflects the shape of the chaise longue.

Contact details for Alasdair Easton: 07763 126 765 or Alasdair@organicgeometry.co.uk