Journal
Commissioning Bespoke Furniture: Process, Timeline and Cost
How much does bespoke furniture cost? There's no single honest answer, but here is how a commission actually gets quoted, what moves the price, and how long it takes.
Working at Long Wittenham
Where a workshop is located is not incidental to what gets made in it. The Lapwing workshop sits within the Sylva Wood Centre, and that arrangement shapes the work in ways that matter.
The Greenwood
The forest of the English imagination has always been a place set apart from human use. That mythology has shaped how we manage, and fail to manage, our actual woodland.
After Ash Dieback
Ash dieback is expected to kill most of Britain's ash trees. Research published in Science in 2025 suggests the woodland is already fighting back.
On British Timber
The UK is one of the least forested countries in Europe and barely uses the timber it grows. Here is why both of those things matter.
The Service Workshop
Norman Potter ran a small workshop in Wiltshire in the 1950s before he wrote about design. The workshop came first, and his thinking is better for it.
Homeyards Botanical Gardens: Recreating Heritage Gates
A commission to recreate the entrance gates of a 1920s Devon garden, made with Foris Studio using traditional joinery and English air-dried oak.
The Problem with Sustainable Furniture
FSC certification is on a large proportion of furniture sold in Britain. What it actually certifies is a narrower question than most buyers assume.
A Maker's Notes on British Hardwood
Oak, ash, walnut, elm: the timbers that come through our workshop, and what they are actually like to work with.
Design & Dislocation
Rather than viewing design styles as local phenomena, we should consider how distance plays a critical role. Design has always been global.
The Objects We Keep
Most furniture gets thrown away eventually. What separates the pieces that last a lifetime from those that don't isn't only quality.
Pen Box Wins the Ray Leigh Design Award from the Gordon Russell Museum
Our Pen Box has received the Ray Leigh Design Award from the Gordon Russell Design Museum, Broadway.