The first thing you notice about handcrafted Windsor chairs is how light and seemingly delicate they appear in the flesh. To witness someone sit in one for the first time can be a heart stopping experience as you see the back as a whole flex to the sitter’s shape and weight. These elements of lightness and flexibility however are a testament to the incredible strength and durability given to the chair by a building process that utilises the said same qualities that allow a tree to stand for centuries.
Unlike almost all wooden furniture that starts with a visit to the timber yard, Windsor chairs begin much closer to the primary source; the tree, or more specifically, one recently fallen and in log form. In all of the components of a Windsor chair you will find the grain running truly from one end to the other. For me there is no other type of chair where the parts are all working together in isolation to make an incredibly strong whole.
When I make a chair and pass it on to a client I gain a sense of sending something useful deep into the future. I have great faith in the skills handed down to me by over 300 years of countless craftsmen, who’s individual work can still be seen and still sat on.
All timbers are carefully selected for both strength and beauty. Apart from the turnings, and the kiln or air dried seat, all components are worked green straight from the log and are hand shaped always following the grain of the timber allowing delicate looking spindles and crest rails which are flexible and retain the strength of the tree.