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A message from Moscow: news from Dmitriy A message from Moscow: news from Dmitriy
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cabinet making school

A message from Moscow: news from Dmitriy

A short blog by Dmitriy Panteleyev who graduated from the Chippendale International School of Furniture, one of the UK’s leading cabinet making schools, in June 2012.

Since its mid October, I just wanted to wish everyone at Chippendale Furniture to have a great school year.

I, myself, am doing fairly well, at least, I feel that so far everything is going according to plan. I’m working for an antique furniture and interior restoration firm in Moscow (fourth month now), and I do enjoy it quite a bit. The job pays well, and it allows me to achieve two things:

  • to save money for my future business and build on my practical skills; and
  • to get acquainted with the Moscow market (without being under too much pressure myself).

Probably the best part about this job is the opportunity to work on projects beyond just furniture, which to me, has been a great experience. I’ve been involved in two interior restoration projects so far, one of which was an on-site restoration of Art Noveau oak interiors in a late 19th century mansion which will soon become an Australian embassy, and on the interior of a 19th century literature museum.

In other words, everything is fairly good so far, and with some luck it’s going to stay that way.

Please say hi from me to Allan, Graham, Clair and everyone else. I’ll make sure to stay in touch…

Dmitriy

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International Furniture School wins Chamber of Commerce Family Business Award

L to R: From left to right: Arthur Johnston (Business Partnership), Anselm Fraser, Antonia Fraser, David Lochhead (Springfords Accountants)

L to R: Arthur Johnston (Business Partnership), Anselm Fraser, Antonia Fraser, David Lochhead (Springfords Accountants)

The Chippendale International School of Furniture has just won a local Chamber of Commerce Award for a successful Family Business by “demonstrating sustained success across a broad range of measures”. The award is sponsored by local accountants and tax advisors, Springfords, and the ceremony was hosted by Queen Margaret University.

Anselm Fraser and his wife Antonia set up the international furniture school near Gifford more than 25 years ago. More recently, they have been joined by their son, Jamie, who graduated from the furniture school this June and is now one of five tutors.

“The school’s success means that for the second year running we have a full student roll for our furniture making and restoration course”, says Anselm Fraser. “Forty per cent of this year’s new furniture school students come from overseas, including Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Barbados, Mexico, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa.

“We’re unique in that our bespoke kitchen and furniture restoration business, Anselm Fraser Furniture, operates in parallel with the furniture school. The ‘Chippendale approach to learning’ combines lectures and lots of hands-on bench time; the students also learn from each other on a collaborative basis.

“The course is particularly suited to students who want to be furniture making entrepreneurs. This year, for example, five of our most recent graduates have set up furniture making and woodworking businesses in the Chippendale Incubator workshops adjoining the school. They also benefit from our support and from being part of our 34-strong woodworking community.”

At the awards ceremony, the international speaker, author and business strategy guru, Roger Harrop, gave an inspiring presentation entitled ‘Staying in the Helicopter®’.  Roger reminded the 200-strong audience of the four basics of business: be exceptional at what you do; create a great place to work; prospect for business; and focus on the bottom line.

Business guru Roger Harrop who made the keynot speech

Business guru Roger Harrop who made the keynote speech

“In today’s competitive climate where weak businesses don’t survive, successful companies must have belief, passion and courage.  Business owners have to ensure they ‘Stay in the Helicopter®’ to give them a high level, strategic perspective on their business, and not be too focused on the all-consuming, day-to-day details.

“I congratulate all the businesses that won the Chamber’s Awards: GMP Print Solutions, Network ROI, Pure Malt Products, BSS Gas, Qik Serve and the Chippendale International School of Furniture.

“Family businesses employ about half the workforce in Scotland, contribute some 45% of GDP and play a really important role in our communities.

“The Chippendale International School of Furniture deserved to win the Family Business Award for their record of long term success. I admire the premium position they have built in their international education market and the way in which they’ve condensed a 2 to 3 year course into an intensive one year course; the fact that they have a full student roll speaks for itself.

“It’s also great that the furniture school is helping spawn about 10 new furniture design businesses each year and supporting some of their graduates’ businesses in their Chippendale Incubator workshops.”

You can watch a video on the Chippendale International School of Furniture in the Chippendale YouTube channel and further information is available on Roger Harrop‘s website.

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Inspirational Lectures on Thomas Chippendale and Furniture History

David Jones & Dr Lucy Worsley discussing Thomas Chippendale at Dumfries House.

David Jones & Dr Lucy Worsley discussing Thomas Chippendale at Dumfries House.

An interview with leading furniture historian David Jones of St Andrews University, who has been delivering keynote lectures on the Life and Times of Thomas Chippendale at the Chippendale International School of Furniture for more than 12 years.

“Students at the Chippendale International School of Furniture learn about different furniture making styles, and how to take the best ideas from the past and adapt them to modern needs. Diversity and practicality are key features of the furniture design course,” says David Jones.

With a focus on Thomas Chippendale, David Jones’ furniture history talks also include a lecture on modern furniture from the 1950’s up to the present day. This takes in ‘experimental modernism’ in Italy (Fornasetti), American furniture makers (Charles and Ray Eames) and concludes with leading contemporary furniture designers like Angus Ross, based in Aberfeldy in Scotland.

“It’s the highlight of my year because everyone at the School is so eager to learn. Anselm creates a great atmosphere and there’s always lots of jollity,” says David Jones.

He explains that Thomas Chippendale had strong connections with Scotland which are still evident today. That’s why you can see some of his best commissions at Blair Castle north of Perth, at Dumfries House in south west Scotland, and at Paxton House near Berwick. See more of Dumfries House and Thomas Chippendale in this video.

Students from the Chippendale School of Furniture have opportunities to see Thomas Chippendale’s furniture first hand on inspiring field trips to many of these houses.

David Jones gives some background on Thomas Chippendale:

“He was born into a family of cabinetmakers and woodworkers in the town of Otley in Yorkshire. Thomas Chippendale’s fame spread when he published ‘The Gentleman and Cabinet-Maker’s Director’ in 1754, his pioneering pattern book of furniture designs.

“His talents for cabinet making were spotted by wealthy Scotsmen, James Rannie, a shipping investor from Edinburgh, and some founders of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews. They helped set up the young craftsman in a three storey workshop in London’s St Martin’s Lane. The area had a thriving artistic and design community where the Rococo style flourished, and was close to St Martin’s Academy founded by William Hogarth.

“Within Chippendale’s ‘Cabinet and Upholstery Warehouse’, there were workshops for cabinet makers, upholsterers and glass workers; feather and carpet rooms; workshops for veneers and forgers; as well as stores and drying rooms. About forty craftsmen worked there.

“In the ‘Director’, Thomas Chippendale tamed the ornate Rococo style which came from France in the 1730s. With its wildly curvaceous virtuoso carving, Rococo was difficult to recreate.  Chippendale created simplified designs that ‘could be made by any capable workman’, making stylish furniture accessible to a new class of people.

“Thomas Chippendale fed the hunger for modernisation in Scotland after the Jacobite uprising in 1745. This was a period of stability in Scotland that led up to the Scottish Enlightenment. Encouraged by greater prosperity, the Scots concentrated on trading and building new houses. From 1754 to 1790, the manufacturing of Chippendale furniture was part of this rebuilding and cultural awakening, and his furniture was used to furnish many of the most stylish houses.”

David Jones, furniture history lecturer, at Dumfries House.

David Jones, furniture history lecturer, at Dumfries House.

David Jones became interested in furniture as a child, inspired by relatives in Wales who had a home full of enchanting furniture. He worked at Temple Newsam House outside Leeds in the north of England with its significant collection of Chippendale furniture.

David went on to study history and history of art at university, then worked in museums where, following his passion, he grasped the chance to look after their furniture collections. David’s opportunity to teach furniture history came up during the 1980’s when he proposed the creation of a new course on the history of furniture at St Andrews University. The rest, as they say, is history.

To learn more about Thomas Chippendale, you can watch a video of David Jones being interviewed in Dumfries House by historian Dr Lucy Worsley on BBC2’s Antiques Uncovered. David introduces one of the finest collections of Thomas Chippendale’s furniture and Anselm Fraser demonstrates how to make the legs of a Chippendale chair at the Furniture School. (David stars between 2 and 5 minutes from the start of the video.  The interview with Anselm Fraser at the School follows from 5 to 9 minutes from the start). We are grateful to Silver River Productions for allowing us to show this video. Check out the Chippendale School of Furniture YouTube Channel for this and other videos about the Furniture School.

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A Swiss chalet. Nothing but pine.

Doug, Graham and Anselm with chainsaw. Photographer: Matthew.

Doug, Graham and Anselm with chainsaw. Photographer: Matthew.

Former Chippendale School of Furniture student Matthew Meyerhoff and father Doug, Graham Davies (the furniture school’s senior tutor), and Anselm Fraser spent two weeks during the summer in the Swiss Alps renovating a derelict, 250 year old, pine chalet. The experience proved what the Swiss can do with ‘nothing but pine’ available as a building material.

There were no services to the chalet, and it was only accessible via a basic track up a steep mountain slope. Everything about the chalet’s structure was dictated by the wood available nearby: the overall size was limited by the height of local pine trees; the roof would originally have had wooden tiles; and the doors, shutters and window frames are made entirely of wood, right down to the wooden hinges and wooden nails.

Matthew Meyerhoff says: “Apparently, it was quite common for farmers to have three chalets at varying heights up the mountainside for occupying during different seasons.

Matthew describes how “Water had damaged a big section of a corner of the chalet. You could put your hand through the wall, so we had to chainsaw back past all the rot. In the process, we found moss, used to seal any gaps.

“There was a half mile zigzag walk up a steep slope to get to the chalet, and each morning for two weeks we carried up big pine beams and green wood planks. It took us 3 days to repair the hole with new lap jointed beams.”

“I’ve always loved learning about history so walking up to the time trapped chalet was just heaven! My father loved the experience too. Crystal clear blue skies and only a couple of days of rain…

Newly laid pine floor in former cow shed.

Newly laid pine floor in former cow shed.

“One evening we watched the locals celebrate their national day with an impressive firework display, while a massive thunder and lightning storm was going on behind us.”

You can watch the Swiss trip slide show here.

Next job was the cow byre on the ground floor which had been used to shelter the farmer’s cows. Apparently, a  cow can generate 1.5 KW of heat so the animals in the basement helped warm up the chalet! The team had to dig out a foot and a half of old manure and rocks to lower the ground floor before laying a new pine floor with locally milled, green wood planks with clean, crisp edges.

Anselm Fraser added: “A staircase had to be built up to the former hay loft. We used whatever wood we could find nearby, so that it looked like it had always been there. The wooden steps were created in the traditional manner by splitting (‘wriving’) logs into four quarters, the two flat edges of each quarter forming a tread and riser.

“When finished, the chalet will probably have 3 bedrooms and sleep up to 8 guests in the loft.

Staircase with wooden steps created by wriving (splitting logs).

Staircase with wooden steps created by wriving (splitting logs).

“One day we lit the old wood lined chimney for a BBQ. The interior of the chimney was so large (10’ square at the base reducing to 3’ square at the top) that the flames were nowhere near the wood. Racks coming out of the chimney would have been used for smoking hams and sausages.

“A lot of the pine was in good condition despite being exposed to the elements for many years, and some of the wood had been preserved by coating it in old engine oil!

“Clearly, we have a lot to learn from the Swiss about preserving pine so that it lasts for centuries.”

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Learning to make a musket cabinet

We’d like to share a charming thank you email from a visitor from the American Midwest who came to the Chippendale School this summer to learn how to make a display cabinet to house his antique musket. Chad, we look forward to welcoming you back next year!

“You don’t know this but I have looked for a woodworking school for about 8 years.  I chose the right one when I picked the Chippendale International School of Furniture.

“I still remember and relish the smell of sawdust when entering your shop.  The muted colors, the quiet sounds of workmanship taking place, and the most singular focus where nothing matters but the wood, my vision and me.

“Your teaching technique was so efficient with emphasis on getting results without loss of quality that I feel it has advanced my capabilities considerably.  Indeed, it is reminiscent of my business ventures where I have always promoted the idea ‘Quality Costs When You Don’t Have It.’

“You surely do and I found my experience very refreshing – so much so, this is my reservation to spend another week in your school next year.

“Of course, it is also a nice chance for me to spend some time in Edinburgh and get away from the office.

“Sandy was so positive and encouraging and I enjoyed working with him very much.  And I learned more than I could imagine.

“Please share my compliments with your staff and, particularly Sandy, for helping me have a wonderful experience.

“Best regards,

“Chad”

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Artisans urged to join the computer age

Anais Dancet with her wooden stool, '10 Degrees.'

Anais Dancet with her wooden stool, '10 Degrees.'

Thanks are due to Colin Donald who published this article in the Sunday Herald business section in May 2012 about our cabinet making courses.  Credits are also owed to Steve Cox who took these photos.

Skilled traditional artisans in Britain should reject “luddite” attitudes in order to bring manufacturing back from China, the head of the Chippendale International School of Furniture has said.Anselm Fraser, who runs his own cabinet-making business alongside the Chippendale School’s teaching facilities in a farmstead in East Lothian, said that the school was now offering its 20-strong annual student intake instruction in computer numerically controlled (CNC) machinery, previously shunned by British furniture-making purists adhering to the country’s venerable handmade traditions.

Fraser, who is set to become “the Jamie Oliver of wood”, with regular appearances with presenter Kirstie Allsopp on Channel 4’s new series Kirstie’s Vintage Homes, said:

All the Chippendale Furniture School students work in one big workshop.

All the Chippendale Furniture School students work in one big workshop.

“Ten years ago all carving had to be done by hand but now CNC will carve whatever you can envisage and programme without you even having to be there. The machines used to cost £250,000 each, but if you have the software you can get them for £3000.”

“You can’t be a luddite, you have to embrace the technology that is there, because if you don’t your overseas competitors will. We have a moral obligation to show the students what technology is there, although they can choose just to work by hand if they prefer.

“We are not one of those furniture schools who keep the mystique of doing everything by hand. Our course is only 30 weeks long, so I want the students to spend more time on studying the business of design and learning how to survive as a going concern.”

Founded in 1985, the £17,000-a-year Chippendale International School of Furniture attracts students from as far afield as Japan and the US, many of whom are encouraged to run their fledgling businesses from its adjacent Chippendale Incubator workshops when their furniture course is completed.

Wooden fish carved by former student Camille Rust.

Wooden fish carved by former student Camille Rust.

“We teach the students that survival as a business is about diversifying their base. This is a woodwork school that talks about business; its USP is teaching the spirit of entrepreneurialism of 18th-century furniture-design pioneer Thomas Chippendale, who moved from Yorkshire to London to conquer the world. Working with wood is still a complicated way to make a living, but more and more people realise it is far greener and better for employment in this country to buy more expensive, quality furniture rather than compressed chipboard furniture made in China that pollutes the atmosphere and ends up in landfill.”

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Chippendale International School of Furniture
Gifford
East Lothian
EH41 4JA near Edinburgh
Scotland
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