Traditional Chair Making

Traditional and mid-century styled chairs made using tools and techniques unchanged for 300 years.

My workshop is based in the Derbyshire town of Wirksworth, at the foot of the Peak District. Here I use freshly felled green timber like ash and oak, split along the grain to take advantage of the tree’s strength and allowing elegant, classic forms that suit contemporary or historic homes and stand up to a lifetime of use. As well as my own designs I make a range of windsor and ladder-back chairs based on historical examples from the US, Wales and the Cotswolds.

I also run courses in very small groups; from stool and bench making over a weekend to week-long chairmaking experiences starting with a straight-grown ash tree which you’ll split, shave, steam-bend and assemble into an heirloom quality piece.