COVID-19 Workshop Measures

We have put in place strict safety and hygiene protocols in regard to the COVID-19 outbreak.

For example, the workshop infrastructure has been changed to allow safety distancing, we set up room dividers, we use face masks, and hand sanitisers are on each bench. Tools are cleaned at the end of each course, and there are hygiene routines surrounding kitchen and toilet use, etc.

The trainers also complete Lateral Flow Tests twice a week.

It is important for yours and our safety that if you, or anyone in your household has been feeling unwell, to please contact me prior to arriving so we can rearrange your course to a later date.

If you would like to know more about this, please do feel free to call us.

   

Bespoke Bookcases, Fitted Bookshelves & Alcove Units

   

We can design, build and fit bespoke fitted bookcases for any room in any style.

From fitted shelves and alcove units to bespoke free-standing bookcases we can provide a made to measure solution to fit for your room perfectly in style as well as in size and proportion.

This walnut bookcase features panelled doors with matched veneer and gently curved recessed handles.

 

Our bookcases are exclusively handmade, with the kind of attention to detail both in the design and the craftsmanship that is only possible with bespoke furniture.

We can provide bookcases in any wood and finish you wish, and can advise on the most appropriate choices for your purpose. We can provide spray painted finishes in any colour and natural wood finishes across the colour spectrum, from this dark walnut bookcase to the lighter shades of the alcove bookcase below.

 

Fitted Alcove Bookcases

This fitted alcove bookcase maximises the available shelving space whilst providing a dedicated space for taller items.

 

The warm glow of Cherry complements this room setting.

 

COVID-19 Workshop Update: Courses

We are very pleased to announce that following a temporary closure due to the COVID-19 lockdown, we have recently reopened the Workshop for our trainees on the long-term professional training courses. The weekend courses will also be resuming as of July. We had to make a number of major physical changes to the workshop layout, to allow for our students to come back to the Workshop.  

Trainees on the professional courses

Following the lockdown announcement in March, we decided to close the Workshop temporarily so that we could reassess our working procedures. During this temporary closure, it was important for us that our long-term trainees maintained an element of normality during these unprecedented times. We therefore delivered the Workshop workbenches to their homes. The trainees were then able to continue working on their current projects from their temporary home workspaces. We managed to stay in contact daily thanks to Zoom and FaceTime. Although this was by no means replacing any of our in-Workshop training, it allowed us to keep focus on our furniture making and maintain our sense of community. I assisted remotely in workspace setup, as well as in planning and structuring their projects. A positive side-effect of the situation was that it gave our trainees a flavour of what working out of their own workspace is like. This strengthened their decision making and problem solving skills, as well as their ability to work independently. Of course, safety was paramount in deciding when to reopen the Workshop. We devised a new workspace layout to ensure social distancing, as well as implemented new processes and hygiene routines which we agreed with our trainees. It certainly felt very good to reopen the doors of the Workshop and get back to making furniture again. We are also very happy to welcome a new trainee. If you are interested in long-term furniture making courses, you can find out more information here.  

Weekend training courses

So far, we rescheduled all our spring weekend courses and we have extended the validity of unused gift certificates which were bought up to March 2020 by an additional 12 months. Therefore, everybody should be able to find a date that suits their calendar. Having taken the Government's advice into account, we have now established a new infrastructure and procedures in the Workshop to be able to resume the weekend courses as of July. We will be in contact with all of those who already have booked onto a course, to explain our safety procedures in more detail. Usually, we would have published the next batch of weekend training courses by now. I apologise, I know many of you are waiting for these! We made the decision to hold back the new dates in order to reschedule trainees and gift voucher holders, who all had to rearrange due to the lockdown. However, we do anticipate there being additional dates available this year. We will publish these immediately via the newsletter and then our website once they become available.  

Thank you

Last but not least Laura and I would like to thank you all for your overwhelming support! Going into the lockdown, I could never have imagined how everything can get turned upside down in our lives so quickly. We are extremely grateful for the kind messages and (sometimes long) phone conversations with many of you. We know that many of you are in difficult situations and we extend to you our own sincere wishes of support.    

Milling and Drying Timber

  It has long been the plan to convert our own timber to use in the workshop and for our students to make bespoke furniture. This year, the plan finally came to fruition when we were milling and drying our first logs of flamed beech back in March. I then stacked the boards in stick and covered them from the elements for up to 2 years. After this time their moisture content should be on average about 18%.  

Kiln Dried

Back in early 2018, I had two logs of beech milled in a sawmill and delivered to the Workshop. These are now ready to be dried further in the timber drying kiln. With our system, this part of the process takes about 2-3 weeks and brings the timber moisture content down to 8%. This is ideal for interior woodwork and furniture. Nearly all of the flamed beech that I convert into kiln dried timber is earmarked for the Moroubo Workbench Course. This, together with the stunning marble figured grain of the flamed beech log which I cut back in March at 4m (13ft) long will make for beautiful workbench tops!   ... only three more oak logs to go.  

Twelve Month Furniture Making Course

This one year full time furniture making course is ideal for those who have made the decision to change career and step into the world of professional fine furniture making.

The course offers almost 2000 hours of full time training. It aims to equip students with the necessary skills, techniques and experience in organising, planning and making fine furniture projects to a high level of craftsmanship in a professional workshop environment.

Through a carefully structured series of projects and practical training, you will learn fine woodworking techniques and methods, with an emphasis on outstanding hand skills, material preparation, joinery, hand tool selection, organic shaping by hand, steam bending, laminating and veneering.

You will be trained to work with woodworking machinery in our fully equipped machine shop. Machine based projects such as cabinet and chair making will develop both your project planing and batch furniture making skills, whilst transferring the ethos of fine hand skills to the machine.

Regular mentoring, will further develop your confidence and ability to work in an increasingly independent and professional manner. This is also an ideal point to think seriously about how you want to make use of your skills and experience - maybe in an employed role, or perhaps setting up your own business.

With these course objectives, time, practice and commitment, you will have the necessary skills to organise, plan and make complex fine furniture, from concept to delivery.

To ensure individual attention, there are never more than five students in our woodworking class.

I am very happy to discuss your specific situation and aims to find the best course fit and available intake dates.

Additional evening classes are also offered (subject to availability), for example:

• Drawing and sketching
• Watercolouring in Furniture Design
• Sketchup for Furniture Makers
• Chair Seat Weaving (Cane, Rope, Splint)
• Photography for Furniture Makers

Course Details

Hand Tool preparation and selection: Hand tool fettling, second hand tool assessing and restauration, new tool selection, maintenance, storage.

Wood preparation by hand: principal fundamentals (flat, square and straight)

Sharpening: blade sharpening, sharpening geometry analysis, saw blades.

Hand Cut Joinery: joint selection and application, weaknesses and strength analysis, marking and laying out, jointing techniques and methods.

Abrasives: selection and correct application.

Wood finishing: choosing a wood finish, oils, waxes, lacquers, hand application and spray applications. Creating own wood finish.

Adhesives: selection and correct application.

Solid Wood Material Science: timber identification, moisture content and wood movement, timber drying (kiln drying processes, etc.), timber selection and timber defects.

Personal timber library

Glue up: preparation and clean-up.

Project management introduction: cutting lists, ironmongery selection, time management.

Workshop Health & Safety

Workshop drafting: technical drawing by hand, rod layout.

Social Media

Visits: timber yards, designer makers and furniture workshops, exhibitions.

Veneering: selection, matching, jointing techniques, inlaying, flattening, veneering of curved panels.

Parquetry

Marquetry

Laminating: wood laminates, curved panel laminating, mould and form making, man-made board laminating.

Curved work and organic shapes: steam bending, advanced hand shaping techniques.

Ironmongery: selection, preparation and fitting.

Power Tools: router, router table, domino jointer, sander, drills and pillar drill, sander, plunge saw, grinders.

Machine Shop Health & Safety

Woodwork Machinery: methods, procedures and techniques, machine shop workflows, maintenance, jigs, batch production techniques.

Machine Joints

CAD: 2D CAD and 3D modelling.

Project management: CAD-generated cutting lists, project costing sheets.

Advanced Glue up: complex sub-assembly glue-ups, pre-finishing glue up techniques.

Cabinet Construction

Prototyping and advanced jig making: Chair making

Batch production runs: jig making (short and long-life), pre-finishing.

Seat Weaving: Danish cord, cane.

Advanced Material Science

Advanced project management: project planing, cost estimating, client customer service.

Course fee: £21,950.

Next intakes:

Monday 6th January 2025 (full)

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 (full)

Monday 14th July 2025 (full)

Monday 1st September 2025

For on-site accommodation, please contact us directly.

Six Month Furniture Making Course

This full time furniture making course is aimed at those interested in beginning their journey towards a career in furniture making.

Through a carefully structured series of projects and practical training, you will initially learn fine woodworking techniques and methods, with an emphasis on outstanding hand skills, material preparation, joinery, hand tool selection and preparation.

You will further refine your skills and knowledge with more complex projects of organic design. These include shaping solid wood by hand, steam bending, laminating and veneering, with a high attention to detail being paramount.

Additionally, you will begin working with woodworking machinery in our fully equipped machine shop. Machine based projects will develop your project planning abilities, whilst transferring the ethos of fine hand skills to the machine.

At the end of the 6 Month Course you will be able to create and read CAD drawings, plan, select materials and undertake furniture making projects of a more complex nature - at the bench as well as in the machine shop.

To ensure individual attention, there are never more than five students in our woodworking class.

I am very happy to discuss your specific situation and aims to find the best course fit and available intake dates.

Additional evening classes are also offered (subject to availability), for example:

• Drawing and sketching
• Watercolouring in Furniture Design
• Sketchup for Furniture Makers
• Chair Seat Weaving (Cane, Rope, Splint)
• Photography for Furniture Makers

Course Details

Hand Tool preparation and selection: Hand tool fettling, second hand tool assessing and restauration, new tool selection, maintenance, storage.

Wood preparation by hand: principal fundamentals (flat, square and straight)

Sharpening: blade sharpening, sharpening geometry analysis, saw blades.

Hand Cut Joinery: joint selection and application, weaknesses and strength analysis, marking and laying out, jointing techniques and methods.

Abrasives: selection and correct application.

Wood finishing: choosing a wood finish, oils, waxes, lacquers, hand application and spray applications. Creating own wood finish.

Adhesives: selection and correct application.

Solid Wood Material Science: timber identification, moisture content and wood movement, timber drying (kiln drying processes, etc.), timber selection and timber defects.

Personal timber library

Glue up: preparation and clean-up.

Project management introduction: cutting lists, ironmongery selection, time management.

Workshop Health & Safety

Workshop drafting: technical drawing by hand, rod layout.

Social Media

Visits: timber yards, designer makers and furniture workshops.

Veneering: selection, matching, jointing techniques, inlaying, flattening, veneering of curved panels.

Parquetry

Marquetry

Laminating: wood laminates, curved panel laminating, mould and form making, man-made board laminating.

Curved work and organic shapes: steam bending, advanced hand shaping techniques.

Ironmongery: selection, preparation and fitting.

Power Tools: router, router table, domino jointer, sander, drills and pillar drill, sander, plunge saw, grinders.

Machine Shop Health & Safety

Woodwork Machinery: methods, procedures and techniques, machine shop workflows, maintenance, jigs, batch production techniques.

Machine Joints

CAD: 2D CAD and 3D modelling.

Project management: CAD-generated cutting lists, project costing sheets.

Course fee: £12,450

Next intakes:

Monday 6th January 2025 (full)

Tuesday 22nd April 2025 (full)

Monday 14th July 2025 (full)

Monday 1st September 2025

Due to the duration, this course may be suited for students who require a Visa. You can find further information here

For on-site accommodation, please contact us directly.