cabinet making school Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Chippendale School of Furniture

Greek train encounter leads to Chippendale Furniture School

An interview with Chippendale Furniture alumni, Tara McIntosh, who now runs her business, Twiggd, from the Chippendale Incubator Centre.

What sort of work were you doing before becoming a student at the Chippendale International School of Furniture?

“I have an HND in Fashion Design and a Degree in Textile Design (weave and tapestry) from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art so I’m very much from a creative background. I had always wanted to learn cabinet making skills and had heard of the Chippendale School of Furniture years before but there was no way I could afford it.

“The summer before I started the course I was on a 27 hour train journey from Greece to Hungary where I randomly met a guy from Edinburgh. He was just about to start at ECA studying Furniture Design and he brought up Chippendale Furniture and I got really excited!

How falling out of a tree led to a love of wood

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An interview with Seonaid Denholm who set up a furniture making business in a Chippendale Incubator unit after graduating from the Chippendale Furniture School.

“I fell out of a tree aged 9. Here I am, 14 years later, a few less broken bones but still playing around with wood!”

What sort of work were you doing before becoming a student at the Chippendale School of Furniture? Why did you choose furniture making?

“Prior to September 2010 I was a studying economic and social history at the University of Manchester, and working part time as a chef. Had I graduated a few years earlier the career path would have been very different; I would have a PGDE and be teaching primary school (well I would have hoped to have been). The pessimistic state of the economy dictated otherwise.”

Chippendale Furniture Making School teaches the ancient skills of wood carving

Chippendale News, Uncategorised

An interview with Charles Oldham, fine wood carver and member of the Master Carvers’ Association.

Charles Oldham, a master wood carver, believes passionately in preserving the ancient skills he learned from an older generation of carvers; teaching woodworking students at the Chippendale International School of Furniture provides an opportunity to pass on these skills.

Charles Oldham specialises in restoration, architectural wood carving, letter cutting, carved and gilded ornaments, and gesso cutting. Charles has worked on a number of high profile restoration projects amongst them Windsor Castle, Hampton Court Palace, Spenser House and Tredegar House.

How a new Chippendale Furniture student has been inspired by his Grandfather, a cabinet maker

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A blog by a British army officer Lieutenant Colonel Guy Harnby who will become a student in October 2011

What made you choose the Chippendale International School of Furniture?

A friend and neighbour, Stuart Janion, was a former student of the school some 8 years ago and he recommended the Chippendale School of Furniture. He and his wife spent a very happy year living near the School in the Gifford area.

Choosing your tree to make flawless furniture

Uncategorised, Woodworking Tips

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.”

Chippendale Furniture student launches business in Chippendale Incubator

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A blog by David Lonsdale a former Chippendale International School of Furniture student who has set up a furniture business in the Chippendale Furniture Incubator.

What sort of work were you doing before becoming a student at the Chippendale International School of Furniture?

I previously worked in sheet metal fabrication for an aerospace company (Midland Aerospace). Working with metal I believe is a good flow through for then working with wood as you need the same attention to detail and very high tolerances especially with aerospace.

I then set up in business in 2004 as Lonsdale Home Improvements doing general DIY, decorating, basic joinery and carpentry. I’ve always enjoyed working with wood and creating something out of nothing!