The Martindale Chair
I knew when I was designing this chair that it had to be strong, I didn't want to worry about joints coming loose over time and my customers having to live with a beautiful but wobbly and creaky chair. The place where a chair usually fails is at the back leg to side rail joint which is made worse by people tipping the chair back on two legs. The solution I came up with was to make the tenons on the front to back rails nice and wide so the tenons on the side to side rails could go right through them. The through tenon is then wedged to make this intersection of mortice and tenons very strong and more interesting visually.
I also wanted the chair to be as comfortable as possible. When I was 17 I spent some time with Robin Day the renowned chair designer. He was a friend of my parents and offered to give me some advice when he heard I was making a rocking chair for my A level project. He emphasised the importance of lower back support. So for this chair I spent a lot of time with prototypes getting the curve, angle and position of the back rest just right.
The back and seat curves are formed by heating the wood up in a steam box then bending it round a form and clamping until they cool.
Visually I wanted to keep the framework rectangular (with slightly rounded corners) to contrast with the softer more sculptural curves of the seat and back rest. This contrast can be emphasised using different combinations of wood or the whole chair can be made from a single species of timber. I take particular care arranging the three seat pieces to get a pleasing overall grain pattern and matching them to the backrest. So although all the chairs in a set will be the same shape they will each have their own unique character.
I also wanted the chair to be as comfortable as possible. When I was 17 I spent some time with Robin Day the renowned chair designer. He was a friend of my parents and offered to give me some advice when he heard I was making a rocking chair for my A level project. He emphasised the importance of lower back support. So for this chair I spent a lot of time with prototypes getting the curve, angle and position of the back rest just right.
The back and seat curves are formed by heating the wood up in a steam box then bending it round a form and clamping until they cool.
Visually I wanted to keep the framework rectangular (with slightly rounded corners) to contrast with the softer more sculptural curves of the seat and back rest. This contrast can be emphasised using different combinations of wood or the whole chair can be made from a single species of timber. I take particular care arranging the three seat pieces to get a pleasing overall grain pattern and matching them to the backrest. So although all the chairs in a set will be the same shape they will each have their own unique character.
Ash chair
Made from beautiful Welsh olive Ash
Price £595 Discounts for sets
Made from beautiful Welsh olive Ash
Price £595 Discounts for sets
Oak and Walnut
Price £695 Discounts for sets
Price £695 Discounts for sets
Ash and London Plane (Lacewood)
Price £650 Discounts for sets |
