furniture school Archives - Chippendale School of Furniture

Introductory professional

There are some people who just know that a professional woodworking course is absolutely what they want to do.

Others, however, are not so sure.

It may be that they’ve had no prior woodworking experience or lack design skills.

But not to worry, because the Chippendale school doesn’t require experience or skill. All we look for is a desire to learn those skills, which everyone does.

For those still undecided, one option is to enrol on one of our one-week introductory courses.

These are designed to give students a taste of woodworking. Therefore, to give the undecided a chance to make that decision.

It’s why, if an introductory course student does then enrol on our professional course, the introductory course fees are deducted in full.

That’s the route that Ross Cunnison from Edinburgh took.

Geophysics

He had previously worked offshore for ten years in the oil and gas sector. He also studied geophysics at the University of Edinburgh.

His decision to enrol on our professional course was made having enjoyed one of our introductory courses last year.

Ross’ decision turned out to be a good one because he proved to be a skilled woodworker and won our Best Design Award.

It’s an annual award that we give to the student who, in our opinion, shows real design talent.

What we liked about Ross’ furniture was its simple honesty, yet with well-crafted flourishes that made the ordinary sublime.

That was particularly true of his Olive Ash side cabinet or credenza, with two beautifully-dovetailed drawers and two cupboards.

Imagination

Its creativity lay in a waterfall edge, with the grain of the wood perfectly falling from the cabinet’s top and down its sides.

That honest approach to furniture design is something that all good woodworkers have to master.

Because good design is about making utterly functional furniture, but with a little imagination thrown in.

Good design is therefore about subtlety, and instinctively understanding the interplay between form and function.

It’s an instinct that Ross demonstrated, and we’re delighted that he’s now setting up his own furniture making business, Ross Cunnison Bespoke Furniture.

Careers in sawdust

Woodworking is a passion that many people have, but don’t immediately pursue as a career.

Many of our students are people who have made the decision to leave their industry mid-career.

They’ve taken the conventional route and gone from school to university and then into a humdrum world of work.

Then, after years doing jobs that haven’t been fulfilling, they finally decide to follow their dreams.

But we’re always happy to take students on our professional course straight from school.

So, if you’re uncertain about moving onto higher education, why not consider a career in fine furniture and design?

Our 2019/20 course starts in October and we still have a couple of places remaining.

Our nine-month course is designed to turn novice woodworkers into craftsmen and women.

And we’re delighted that so many women are now enrolling on our one-week introductory course, one-month intermediate course and our flagship professional course.

Student of Year

Indeed, in the last four years, two female students have won our Student of the Year award.

Most of the school leavers that we take in are from the UK, but not this year.

Julius Schmalbach, from Hamburg in Germany, came to us with a little woodworking experience, but no formal training.

But he did have a small workshop at home, and taught himself to make simple pieces such as a table and bedside cabinet.

His first piece with us was a beautifully-designed ash chair with a woven cane back.

It had fine proportions and was exceptionally well crafted, with steam bent and laminated legs.

Underlining his professionalism, the chair was entirely his own design, which he fine-tuned from a mock-up that took four weeks to make.

It’s the first skill that students learn at the Chippendale school, because without being able to visualise your design in 3D, you can’t accurately construct your design.

However, we have the tutorial expertise to ensure that all our students easily master the dark arts of design and visualisation.

All angles

We then encourage students to make a scale model of their proposed piece.

That helps them understand what it will look like from all angles and how it will be joined together.

Most students wouldn’t have started with so ambitious a project, and Julius’ painstaking approach to his design gave him the necessary confidence.

Confidence is also something that we instil at the Chippendale school and, as the course progresses, everyone’s confidence increases.

That was certainly true of Julius because, having taken time and trouble over his chair, he then made a small bench made out of oak, which took him four days!

His signature piece was a lovely cherry veneered writing escritoire, with two drawers held together with hand-cut dovetails.

It was another ambitious project, particularly to veneer around corners, and to make its cherry octagonal tapered legs.

It’s a lovely and practical piece of furniture, with a high level of attention to detail. For example, the handles are also made from well-turned pieces of cherry.

Not content with that, he also completed a walnut medicine cabinet, with star-shaped mirror cut-outs.

The pieces of mirror are gilded in white gold to lend it a magical quality and, inside, it has two drawers and two shelves.

Julius shows that woodworking skill can be learned at any age.

So, if you think a career in furniture design and sawdust might be for you, don’t delay…contact us today!

Desk, chair and triangles

The Chippendale school welcomes students of all ages and backgrounds on our introductory, intermediate and professional courses.

But Giuseppe Merlino from near Milan is the first post-doctoral researcher in microbiology that we’ve ever had.

It underlines how fine furniture design and making can be a second career for anybody at any age.

For Giuseppe, woodworking began as a hobby while he was researching environmental microbes in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.

But he’d also always been interested in woodworking, seeing wood as the ultimate natural and most durable of materials.

Giuseppe came to us for a visit last summer. We also put him in touch with an Italian student, Gianluca Caregnato, who studied with us during 2017/18.

His first piece on the 2018/19 course was a Bauhaus-inspired desk that beautifully combined form and function.

Sinuous curves

His writing desk, in European oak, was linear and elegant, and incorporated architectural flourishes throughout.

Most clearly, the desk top was glass, allowing every detail of its sinuous curves to be easily seen.

It therefore celebrates all aspects of the design and construction process. A Bauhaus touch is that everything is on display.

Giuseppe’s second piece was a floating-top coffee table in American oak.

The table top was veneered in triangles using different rosewood types, with the inside of each triangle veneered with heartwood – a darker colour hewn from wood where sap doesn’t flow.

The lighter shade of rosewood making up the triangles was cut from sapwood – the part of the tree where sap does flow.

The wood has a strong, sweet smell which can last for many years, and which explains the name rosewood.

Another signature piece was a chair made from European oak, held together with pegs fumed with ammonia, and incorporating steam-bent elements.

Schopenhauer

He named it after Arthur Schopenhauer, the 19th century German philosopher.

Schopenhauer is often described as the artist’s philosopher because of the inspiration his aesthetics have given to artists of all kinds.

We’re delighted that Giuseppe is staying on at the school and setting up his business, Giuseppe Merlino Furniture. He’ll now be working on-campus from our incubation spaces, Myreside Studios.

These spaces allow Chippendale graduates to create their own businesses without the hassle and expense of finding and equipping their own workshops.

Graduates in our Myreside Studios have access to all our equipment and machinery. They also have access to tutor support.

It’s a great way for our alumni to start off their new ventures, and we wish Giuseppe every success with his.

Christmas at Chippendale

An immersive course at the Chippendale school involves a great deal of hard work…for most of the time.

But we also like to mix hard work with fun because what we learn with pleasure we never forget.

For example, being an international school, we celebrate the various festivals and national days that are commemorated in each of our students’ own countries.

We not only like to make everyone feel welcome, we use these occasions to learn more about each other’s cultures.

But one festival we can all celebrate is Christmas and every year staff and students come together in the school for a turkey-and-all-the-trimmings lunch.

It’s also fitting that, in training to be woodworkers, we are also remembering the son of a carpenter.

And, as trained or trainee carpenters, we can also remember Saint Joseph, Jesus’ father, the patron saint of cabinetmakers.

Changing attitudes the Joshua way

One of the great frustrations shared by all furniture design schools is that the option of fine furniture making is not a career option that schools tend to recommend to their pupils.

That’s because it’s a career they don’t know much about because – and maybe all furniture schools are at fault here – we haven’t shouted about it enough.

It’s a frustration that we’re determined to do something about, and are now actively seeking to better engage with government in Scotland and London – to try and change perceptions and the careers advice given to young people.

Which is why it’s particularly nice to welcome Joshua Godbert from Hertfordshire, a young student who has come to us straight from school.

He didn’t much fancy going onto college or university, but had always been creative and practical – studying CDT at both GCSE and A level.

However, it wasn’t until the school did some marketing to careers guidance teachers throughout the UK, that his school suggested fine furniture design and making as a career option.

That led Joshua to enrol in a short course at the Chippendale school, which confirmed that woodworking was something that he’d like to do.

His longer-term ambition is to return to Hertfordshire and to stay in woodworking.

Fine furniture school creates craftsmanship Guild

The Chippendale International School of Furniture is delighted to announce the creation of the Fine Furniture Guild.

The Guild is a not-for-profit business, and Professor Richard Demarco OBE has agreed to be its first honorary chairman.

The purpose of the Guild is to offer further support for graduating students who have successfully completed the Chippendale course.

The school has an international reputation and each year welcomes up to 25 students from around the world to its immersive 30-week courses.

This year, students came from the USA, UK, Germany, Poland, Austria, South Korea, India, Singapore and Australia.

The Guild creates an online platform for customers looking to buy fine furniture – putting them directly in contact with a designer near to them.

It also offers those customers the guarantee that the furniture designer and woodworker is a qualified craftsman or women, who has successfully completed the exacting Chippendale course.

“This is a unique venture in the woodworking schools sector, and represents a very real commitment by the school to former students here and internationally,” said Anselm Fraser, principal of the Chippendale school.

The Chippendale International School of Furniture is over 30 years old and has achieved an international reputation for the quality of its teaching, endorsed earlier this year by an Education Scotland report.

Professor Richard Demarco OBE

Professor Demarco is one of the UK’s leading arts commentators, who is himself an artist and one of the most influential advocates for contemporary art.

He is also a staunch supporter of the Chippendale International School of Furniture and each year awards a prize in his name to an outstanding student.

“The purpose of the not-for-profit Chippendale school is to teach all aspects of woodworking. However, we have long recognised that, in a competitive market, even the most gifted of alumni can find it hard to secure commission sales,” said Anselm Fraser.

In recent years, the School has introduced additional commercial modules into the curriculum – including business planning and marketing, website design and public relations.

The school has also created incubation space for alumni to set up in business in East Lothian, while still having access to the school’s specialist equipment and teaching staff. Currently, some ten alumni work from the school campus.

“We recognise that some students are better than others in marketing their businesses and connecting with a buying audience. The purpose of the Guild is to provide alumni with an additional resource to engage with customers local to them,” said Anselm Fraser.

A unique project

Nothing quite like the Guild has been created before, either specifically in furniture schools or, more generally, in other craftsmanship institutions – for example, jewellery making or ceramics.

This largely reflects the more focused ethos of other schools – teaching only furniture making skills, without transitional or longer-term business support. The Chippendale school’s ethos has always had a longer-term focus on student welfare and success, and this project reflects that.

The school wants its students to be successful, and to play a role in securing Scotland’s and the UK’s place as a centre of furniture design excellence. The Guild is intended to help underline both of those objectives.

“We believe the Guild has lessons for other niche educational institutions. It will showcase Scottish craftsmanship to international audiences and help support graduating furniture designers as they transition into employment or self-employment,” said Anselm Fraser.

“We are also immensely grateful to East Lothian Council for grant funding to help us develop the business plan and help take us to where we are now,” he said.