furniture design course - Chippendale School of Furniture

Professional, intermediate

Eion Gibbs, who graduated from our professional course in June, was also our first intermediate course student.

He first came to us on our month-long course while recovering from malaria.

He’d been working as a film cameraman on two charitable projects, the Kilimanjaro Project and Trees 4 Kilimanjaro.

Both charities are highlighting the environmental damage that is being done to Africa’s largest mountain, and the surrounding farmers who are affected.

Eion enjoyed the intermediate course so much that it inspired a change of career direction, and a new life as a professional woodworker.

His stand-out piece during his year with us was a monumental piece of furniture standing five feet tall.

“The Shape Shifter Cabinet” contained twenty-two compartments, with most of them being a different size.

Magnet

It comprised three horizontal sections, which were interchangeable, with each compartment being opened by a magnet.

It was therefore a functional and quirky piece of furniture, crafted from Oak, Sycamore, Ash, spalted Beech and Elm.

Its front was decorated in a harlequin triangle pattern fashioned from Ash and Oak. Adding to its charm, it also had secret compartments and a gilded chess set that folded into a drawer.

After graduation, most of our students take a well-earned holiday.

Not so Eion, who had already won his first commission – for an even more monumental piece.

His commission for a shepherd’s hut was for a customer in Southampton. It was to be a surprise 50th birthday present for his client’s wife.

The humble shepherd’s hut, which stands on iron wheels, was once a common sight across much of the country.

Lambing

It allowed shepherds to keep a close eye on their flocks, particularly during lambing season.

But it’s making something of a revival, because it can be put to a whole number of uses – and doesn’t usually need planning permission.

Nowadays, shepherd’s huts are used as garden rooms, spare bedrooms, reading nooks, outdoor gyms, or home offices.

Only recently, former prime minister David Cameron commissioned one to be his writing room.

Eion’s hut was completed with a bed and wood-burning stove. Other shepherd’s hut designs can have a toilet or shower.

The school has a shepherd’s hut on our campus and, underlining their flexibility, it was used last summer as a bedroom for one of our students.

This year it was used as a physiotherapy treatment room, by the girlfriend of one of our professional course students.

Eion’s Douglas Fir hut had tongue-and-groove Pine interior walls, Douglas Fir floor, six windows and double doors.

Eion has set up Belladrum Woodworking and is staying on at the school in incubation space.

These spaces, Myreside Studios, allow graduates to more easily make the transition into professional woodworking.

They have full access to the school’s equipment and, if they have a problem, they can seek help from our tutors.

It’s all part of the school’s holistic approach, giving our students the best tuition and a valuable aftercare package.

We’re delighted that Eion is staying on with us, and we wish him every success.

Note: We still have two vacancies for our professional nine-month course that starts next month.

Talented students and fantastic furniture

Our Edinburgh graduate exhibition is being held ithis year in Greyfriars Kirk (1 Greyfriars, EH1 2QQ) on Monday 12^th ( 1pm – 8pm) and Tuesday 13^th of June (10am – 8pm).

This is followed by an Open Evening (6-8pm) at the Chippendale school (Myreside Grange, East Lothian EH41 4JA) on Friday 16^th June and Open Day (10am – 6pm) on Saturday 17^th June.

Here are just some of the talented furniture makers whose works will be on show, and we’ll feature other students’ work in later newsletters and posts.

Jin Sung Choi

Always interested in both design and the practical skills in making furniture, he hopes to go onto further training in Japan, to develop his technique in carving and gilding.

He then hopes to set up his own business in South Korea where he thinks the market is beginning to embrace outside influences.

“South Korean furniture is traditionally made from solid wood, often inlaid with mother of pearl and with brass fastenings and handles,” says Jin.

“I am more interested in bringing a delicate Western approach, and creating furniture that is both Oriental and classical.”

One of his signature pieces is a stunning desk in solid fumed oak, with turned legs, brass fixings – incorporating a hidden compartment with a hidden key.

“I believe that affluent young people in South Korea are moving away from factory-made furniture towards hand-made and bespoke. My business will aim to meet that growing aspirational market,” he says.

Rob Vowles

Until this year, Rob Vowles was more at home climbing trees than using them to make fine furniture.

The former tree surgeon from London has worked in several countries and continents, including Canada, Sweden and in parts of Africa.

His fiendishly-clever drinks cabinet, made from a variety of woods including elm, red gum, oak and ash, is his signature piece from the furniture course.

Opening the cabinet is the clever part, because to do so involves solving a series of puzzles that are designed to baffle even the most sober.

Based on ideas from Japanese puzzle boxes, the drinks cabinet has a sliding door mechanism that, when several elements are aligned correctly, reveals a secret puzzle door – and an even more secret lock and separate key to open it.

Inside, the drinks cabinet is just as stunning, with elaborate marquetry panels and a mirrored back.

On graduation, Rob intends to set up his business in London.

Colin Bate

Colin Bate, originally from Birmingham but now living in Perthshire, is an outdoors sort of person who is also a member of his local mountain rescue team.

He moved north from Birmingham to work in outdoor education but, over the years, found himself less and less outside and more and more behind a desk.

Hence his decision to change track and enrol at the Chippendale school and, after graduation, to set up Highwood Furniture in his adopted Alyth, to make and design furniture and bespoke kitchens.

His signature pieces include a drinks cabinet that perfectly reflects his love of nature and the outdoors, with an oak frame, elm top and a free-form tree design in spalted beech running across the front.

Another stand-out piece is a steam-bent desk in olive ash and oak which he made “to test the limits of what can be achieved with steam bending,” said Colin.

“I love the precision of furniture making, and the disciplines involved in turning a design idea into a practical piece of furniture. But I also enjoy the creativity that goes into making a desk or cabinet into something absolutely unique,” he says.

Roland Pettet

Roland, for the time being at least, has swapped a life on the open sea for a furniture design course on dry land.

A graduate in navigation and maritime science from Plymouth University, Roland has been working as a navigation officer on luxury motor yachts, mostly in the Mediterranean and Caribbean.

However, he recently discovered a passion for woodworking and came to Chippendale to train as a furniture maker to explore his creative side. His goal is to eventually open his own furniture making business in Surrey, where he comes from.

“Working as a ship’s navigation officer is demanding and carries a lot of responsibility, but it doesn’t allow for much creativity,” says Roland.

His beautiful desk and chair, in wych elm and olive ash, was inspired by the shapes of Gothic church arches. The strength and grandeur of the Gothic design is softened by the piece’s gentle curves and chamfered edges.

Andreas Gurtner

Andreas Gurtner, from Vienna, already has a degree in international land and water management from Wageningen University in the Netherlands.

Through his studies he discovered a passion for beauty and the simplicity of nature and realised that he missed an outlet for his own creativity. This ambition led him to enrol at the Chippendale school.

His half round table in sycamore and yew was inspired by the wild grain of the yew. He combines the natural beauty of the wood with different materials like gold accents that are incorporated in the piece.

Andreas also finds inspiration from past Austrian artists such as Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Gustav Klimt, which is reflected in his designs – using the wood itself to inspire and shape the final design.

“Most designers use wood to make their designs come to life. However, I also like to see things the other way around – using the patinas and grains of the wood to dictate the final design,” he says.

Through his passion for travelling he has learned about many different cultures and, for example, the aesthetics of Asian simplicity. That is why, after graduation, Andreas hopes to work in Asia for a couple of years, and to learn more about different approaches to woodworking.

After that, he wants to return to Vienna and open his own furniture business, taking inspiration again from his native Austrian artists.

Shubham Goel

Shubham Goel is one of two Indian students at the school this year, and who should have no trouble marketing the business he intends to set up in either Mumbai or his home town of New Delhi.

He is a graduate in marketing and advertising from New Delhi University and, prior to studying at the Chippendale school, was an account executive working for one of the world’s leading advertising agencies.

However, he has always wanted to follow a more personally creative career, and to build a business that is his own – a course of thinking that has taken him from India to Scotland.

Shubham’s new business, West End Furnishings, will primarily design and make bespoke furniture, but fusing traditional designs and materials from Asia with influences from the West.

“India is a rapidly developing country with an international outlook. What I would like to do is take the best of contemporary Indian design and give it a slight twist – bringing that international dimension to a domestic market,” he says.

His beautiful writing desk in olive ash and spalted beech provides echoes of that approach, developing a style that bridges countries and continents.

The Art of Windsor Chair Making

The third and final term of our students’ nine-month furniture design course was kick-started with a week of intensive woodworking, learning the art of Windsor chair making under the guidance of Britain’s leading Windsor chair makers, Tom Thackray and his son-in-law Steve.

The making of Windsor chairs involves a whole range of woodworking skills that, once learnt, will be invaluable to our students in their furniture-making careers. First, the seats are shaped using a ‘travisher’ and various degrees of sanding.

The rods at the back of a Windsor chair are known as ‘sticks’ – as opposed to spindles – and are shaped from thick to thin by forcing them through a specialist lathe.

Traditional woodturning skills are used to form and shape the legs.

A Windsor chair is a joy to behold and a pleasure to own. They are chairs that become loved over time and passed down from generation to generation. They make wonderful gifts and, because they can be handcrafted in any size, they can be made for men, women and children – and they can even be built as rocking chairs. Additionally, a whole wealth of design features can be added, including the carving of personal details into the ash wood, making each chair absolutely unique.

How to set up a bespoke furniture design business

Garry Macfarlane, originally from south-west Scotland, founded Freckle Furniture when he graduated from the Chippendale International School of Furniture in East Lothian outside Edinburgh. His fledgling bespoke furniture design business moved to new expanded premises nearby at Fenton Barns after spending two years in the Chippendale Incubator workshops adjoining the furniture design school.

Since 1985, the Chippendale International School of Furniture has been running one of the UK’s leading intensive furniture design and furniture restoration courses. Many of the furniture school’s graduates take advantage of the low costs and support provided by the Chippendale Incubator Workshops for a year or more.

Turkey Shed to Workshop

A cabinet making entrepreneur, Garry Macfarlane, describes his new furniture design workshop: “It was originally a turkey shed for the Fenton Barns turkey farm. It then became a blacksmith’s workshop. When we moved in it was just a big space but we could see the potential. It was a bit of a leap of faith but it has been worth all the effort.”

Former turkey shed transformed into a furniture making workshop with separate machine rooms

Working with a fellow Chippendale graduate to create the workshop and share the costs, Garry has created extensive professional facilities including a fully fitted machine room, sanding room and kitchen, as well as a large workshop.

Getting the Furniture Business Started

Garry continues with his story: “Starting out was very tough and the first two years were a struggle. But all the hard work is starting to pay off and I am now incredibly busy which meant that I had to move to bigger premises. I’ve now completed two kitchens in London, a smaller job in Chelsea and a full kitchen near Clapham.

“The latter commission, which came through a Scottish connection, was for a Victorian terraced house with a large, open plan kitchen extension out the back. Working with the architect and the customer we came up with a great design solution. The kitchen was made from solid Scottish oak and the doors and framework painted with Farrow and Ball colours. The finished result looked stunning and the customer was very pleased.”

Varied Commissions – Bookcases, Desks… and a Human Foot!

“In Edinburgh I’ve made lots of bookcases and desks, mostly in oak which is popular. People like commissioning TV Cabinets too. I’ve also been asked to do some more unusual things such as display stands for mobile phones in an app developer’s office.

“I made a model of a foot for the BBC programme ‘Dissected, the Incredible Human Foot’ on BBC4. The programme was pretty gory though – I had to turn it off!”

“At the moment I’m working on a pedestal style desk in American black walnut with burr walnut and rosewood detailing. It is for another Scottish connection in London. Then I’ll be starting on a kitchen table for someone in the Borders using Sycamore.”

Early Challenges – Learning Clients’ Needs

Setting up a new business brings many challenges, not least learning the needs and demands of customers: “Some clients know exactly what they want; others need taken through the commissioning process step by step,” say Garry.

“I’ve got more confident with pricing, costs and timings over the last 3 or 4 years. With repetition and experience, I’m doing the work a lot quicker. I’ve also invested in good quality machines which allow me to produce things quickly and accurately. Everything in here is handmade though, nothing is computer controlled.”

Marketing as Well as Woodwork

Marketing is of course a very important area for any new business: “I work hard on my marketing. I get new commissions from a range of sources including the internet and repeat business, but more and more is by word-of-mouth. Generating the work was difficult initially but now I’ve got so much that I’m thinking of taking someone on to help me – I’ve got several months of work in the pipeline. Hopefully I can get in to a position of having 2 or 3 people in the workshop with me.”

All this is a far cry from Garry’s previous job before he went to the Chippendale Furniture School: “Previously I worked for Ryden, the Chartered Surveyors, and was sitting behind a desk all day in Glasgow. I was in commercial property investment but that was hit hard by the recession and I moved into property management when the market dried up. It just wasn’t really for me and I wanted to do something different.

“Making bespoke furniture is much more rewarding, more creative and there’s less paper pushing. I don’t clock watch anymore because I’m enjoying my work. I’m my own boss and I can manage my own time. I’ve no regrets about the move even though it hasn’t always been easy.

“My advice to other furniture making start-ups is:

1.   Be prepared not to earn any money for a while.
2.   Work hard on the marketing side. It takes a while to pull in the work and service it.
3.   You can make money in the first couple of years but living off it is tough. You’re too slow and you’re still learning so much.

Never Stop Learning

“The Chippendale School of Furniture course was a really good introduction to all aspects of furniture design and making, but the journey continued after I left. There’s a cliché that you never stop learning but in woodwork it is certainly true.”

Freckle Furniture designs and makes hand crafted, bespoke furniture and kitchens to commission with exceptional design, enduring craftsmanship and superior quality. Garry’s ambition is to make commissioning exciting and engaging, and he encourages customers to visit the workshop to see their bespoke furniture being made.

Freckle Furniture’s work has recently been acknowledged by renowned Danish design company Bo Concept as one of their ‘Ones to Watch’ awards for 2014.

More information is available from the Freckle Furniture website.

Drinks all round for top Chippendale School furniture design students

A furniture designer from the west of Scotland has won a top award from the Chippendale International School of Furniture. The Chippendale School is regarded as one of Europe’s premier furniture design schools and runs intensive furniture design courses and furniture restoration courses.

Ali Wilson, who was brought up in East Anglia, studied architecture in Plymouth and now lives in Ayrshire, won Design Student of the Year for a stunning drinks cabinet in the shape of a fish.

Ali said that she was “delighted with the award. I have loved the course and learned such a lot.” Her “big fish” will be displayed at a number of venues over the summer.

The awards ceremony was presided over by arts impresario Professor Richard Demarco, who said that the Chippendale School was an “inspirational place and a teaching resource of national importance.”

The long-established school, which is in East Lothian just outside Edinburgh, takes students of all ages from around the world. This year’s intake included students from the USA and Canada – as well as across the UK.

You can see a selection of the amazing pieces of furniture designed and hand-crafted by the students in the Student Gallery.

There are still places remaining for this year’s 30-week intensive course which begins in October, with graduating students able to take incubation space at the school to establish new businesses.

Gary Staple’s tea cabinet with marquetry inlays

Canadian student Gary Staple from Halifax, Nova Scotia won Student of the Year for his portfolio of work, which included a tea cabinet with intricate inlays, and which will go on show in Canada over the summer.

Gary Staple with his guitar

Gary, who trained as a carpenter and who now also runs his own Halifax business, Gary Staple Fine Woodworking, said that “the Chippendale course has been hugely useful and taught me a great deal, as well as giving me a European perspective on furniture design.”

Anselm Fraser, the school’s principal, said that “our students, many of whom have never worked with wood before, leave the school with skills they can use for the rest of their lives.”

Chippendale School Student Dreams of Boat Building

This blog is by Fergus McCoss who was a deckhand on super yachts but his long term plan is becoming a woodworker. After graduating from the Chippendale School of Furniture, he dreams of building boats in the style of 1960’s Riva Aquarama speedboats!

I started in Palma, did Mediterranean loops, Atlantic crossings and Caribbean routes.

I was working with 60-75m yachts which had crews of 13 to 23 people. The interiors were like 5 star hotels. Doing a refit in a boatyard in Germany made me want to work with my hands on the interior design and maintenance of yachts.

The Riva Aquarama Lamborghini

I was attracted to the Chippendale School by the no frills, get-on-and-do-it approach. I’m not really one for the classroom – you learn more when you make mistakes. I enjoy being really hands-on, and, having been away for 3 years, it’s great to be back in Scotland.