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Today's furniture, tomorrow's antiques
Hand-made furniture is enjoying a revival, especially here in Yorkshire. Sharon Dale reports on a new showcase for it
The art of furniture making was made famous in the 18th century by Yorkshire's own Thomas Chippendale, born in Otley, and more locally by the likes of Robert "Mouseman" Thompson in Kilburn.
Now, after half a century of fervent mass production, there is a cabinet-making revival.
We are moving away from flimsy, throw-away homeware and hunting out quality and longevity.
Yorkshire is particularly well-blessed with independent furniture makers, who create both traditional and contemporary designs along with bespoke pieces in
wood.
Everything from handmade kitchens, which rival the top manufacturers and are half the price, to beautiful chairs, tables and jewellery boxes can be found in workshops that are a long way from the high street both geographically and metaphorically. The Thirsk area, where the Mouseman's descendants still make solid oak furniture (www. robertthompsons.co.uk), is certainly a hotspot.
The Thirsk furniture trail (www.thirskfurnituretrail. co.uk) alone boasts 13 cabinet makers, but these craftsmen and women are to found in every part of the region from Sheffield to Halifax.
The latest designer makers to band together to promote their work are the Northern Contemporary Furniture Makers, who mostly hail from Yorkshire and who work in hardwoods. They use traditional cabinet making techniques combined with modern methods and shapes.
To celebrate the fact that the group is creating tomorrow's antiques, Leyburn-based auctioneers Tennants is hosting an exhibition of their work. It is the first time an auctioneer outside London has supplied a venue to showcase contemporary furniture.
Northern Contemporary Furniture Makers' spokesman Richard Burnley of Thirsk-based Design in Wood, says: "Although contemporary wooden furniture is widely and regularly exhibited in the south of England, notably in London and Cheltenham, there have been no major shows in the North.
"We hope that this, our first major exhibition, will reach as wide an audience as possible. We want people to see that they no longer need to go to London for high quality modern English furniture."
n The exhibition is at the Auction Centre, Leyburn, until September 1. Opening hours are from 9am – 5pm until Friday, when the centre is open until 7pm and on Saturday, Sept 1 when it is open until 3pm. For details, contact Tennants, Tel: 01969 623780, www.tennants.co.uk
For more details about The Northern Contemporary Furniture Makers, visit www.northernfurniture.org.uk
Here we talk to some of the designers whose work is on display:
Design In Wood
Richard Burnley took over Thirsk-based Design in Wood in 1993 after working with its founder since 1989. He worked in London for 10 years as an architect before becoming a furniture designer and maker and moving to North Yorkshire.
Paul Steel was a joiner in Otley, before deciding to specialise in architectural joinery and cabinet making. He joined Richard at the Thirsk workshop in 1991.
They specialise in cabinet making and architectural joinery, making everything from kitchens and staircases to office furniture, cabinets and chairs.
Richard says: "When I first came into this business, it was quite hard but the market has improved. I find furniture making much more rewarding than my former job as an architect. It's interesting and diverse. We've done everything from a specially commissioned jewellery box to kitchens, church panelling and even a pulpit. A lot more people are interested in the work we do and in some cases it's cheaper for them, especially when it comes to handmade kitchens. Even a dining table is between 1,000 and 2,000 and that compares with the top end of the high street."
n Design in Wood, Chapel Street, Thirsk. Tel: 01845 525010. www.designinwood.co.uk
Wood B
David Wilson is a former design engineer, who turned a lifelong interest in furniture into a career. He brings what he calls a clean-lined, engineering approach to his design.
Anne Burbidge worked in computing before switching careers to become a furniture maker. She enjoys working with veneers and blending colour and decoration into her work. The pair met on the furniture course at Leeds College of Art and Design and established Wood B two years ago. Their workshop is at Blubberhouses between Skipton and Harrogate, where they apply traditional cabinet making skills to contemporary designs.
They make everything from freestanding and fitted furniture and recently introduced a ready to order range, as well as doing commissions.
David says: "Our furniture is inspired by a long tradition of fine British furniture making, taking past and contemporary aesthetics and applying them to modern living requirements.
"If a component or a feature needs to be hand-made, we hand-make it. If it can be equally well done by machine, we will use a machine. Our dovetail joints are hand cut because while machines and modern jigs can produce satisfactory dovetail joints, those skilfully cut by hand are finer."
Anne says: "We're not in the same market as Ikea. What we do is modern antiques for people who appreciate the time and skill that has gone into them. You can't get what we do mass produced on the high street. The burr veneers, the different types of wood and the curves. But we're finding that people who are buying beautiful homes are looking for quality, beautiful furniture to put in them, so there is a growing market. It's a lovely job, especially when you do commissions because you build up a relationship with a customer."
n Wood B are based in Blubberhouses.
Tel: 01943 880417. www.woodb.co.uk
Chris Tribe
Chris is a self-taught cabinet maker, who gave up a career in social work and computing 17 years ago to become a designer-maker.
Based in Scissett, near Huddersfield, he creates bespoke furniture using traditional techniques like dovetailing and jointing and modern methods like bending laminates to create curves.
He makes everything from kitchens and built-in furniture to cabinets, tables and chairs.
Most of his work is commissioned, but he creates speculative pieces for exhibitions that allow development of new ideas.
He also teaches furniture making and offers one-to-one and small group tuition in his workshop.
Chris says: "You don't get rich making furniture but you do get job satisfaction.
"When I started, I had to supplement my income doing joinery work, but now there are definitely more people interested in buying hand-crafted furniture.
"They're getting fed up with cheap stuff and they're looking for quality."
n Chris Tribe: Tel: 01484 862438. www.christribe.co.uk
John Gabler
John, 26, was born in Pennsylvania in the USA, where his parents were both teachers. He gave up university to work on a ranch in Colorado, where he began working with wood and learning joinery skills.
After meeting his Yorkshire wife, Liz, who was working as a wrangler (cowgirl) on the ranch, he moved to Carlton Miniott, near Thirsk, and became an apprentice cabinet maker with a bespoke kitchen firm. He left to study furniture making at the Australian School of Fine Furniture in Tasmania, before moving back to Carlton Miniott last December to set up his own workshop.
His work includes his own design furniture and homeware, such as Pop's chair in Tasmanian black wood and the Triune tray. He also takes commissions and recent work includes a maple staircase.
Liz, a history teacher, is the main breadwinner, but John labours in his workshop from 7am – 5pm and works in a wine shop in the evenings to make ends meet while he establishes his business.
He says: "I love what I do and I think I'm really lucky to have found it, or rather it found me."
n John Gabler: Tel: 07756 989595. www.gablerfurniture.com
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