The London Plane and city pollution

The London plane is the perfect city tree, dealing with the street pollution by absorbing it into it's bark, which it then sheds like battered pieces of armour. This is what gives it it's mottled camouflage look.

Planted in great numbers in the mid 19th century to help soak up the soot and dust of the gathering industrial revolution, the London Plane remains invaluable. Bizarrely  it may be their very ubiquity that renders them invisible to most people. Spot one and give it thanks for making your city a little more breathing space.

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#revolvingbookcase in #walnut #Ariel finishing off in the workshop #furniture #craft #bookcase

The jointing and planing flush and sanding are all done by hand at the Bermondsey workshop. The detail and finishing are completed slowly so all imperfections are slowly removed.

Ariel is a totally bespoke bookcase, the design can be adapted to fit most book sizes. I have made nearly a dozen of these, all in walnut (maybe two in oak) and I would love to make one in a native timber such as ash, oak or cherry. I can offer 15% discount to anyone interested in an alernative to American Black Walnut.

#revolvingbookcase in #walnut #Ariel coming together in the workshop #furniture #craft #bookcase

Ariel is a totally bespoke bookcase, the design can be adapted to fit most book sizes. I have made nearly a dozen of these, all in walnut (maybe two in oak) and I would love to make one in a native timber such as ash, oak or cherry. I can offer 15% discount to anyone interested in an alernative to American Black Walnut.

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#Table top #ebonised & #gougecarved for new #table in LondonPlane #furniture #craft #britishmade #londonplaneproject #lacewood

The London Plane Project continues with a new 3 legged occasional table for batch production. London Plane in 3 ways - Lacewood, ebonised and ebonised then gouge carved.

Another #revolvingbookcase in production in #walnut #Ariel #furniture #craft #bookcase

Ariel is a totally bespoke bookcase, the design can be adapted to fit most book sizes. I have made nearly a dozen of these, all in walnut (maybe two in oak) and I would love to make one in a native timber such as ash, oak or cherry. I can offer 15% discount to anyone interested in an alernative to American Black Walnut.

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#Table top #carved #ebonised & read for new #plantstand #furniture #craft #britishmade #londonplaneproject #lacewood

This London plane table top is gouge carved by hand after ebonising with a steel and vinegar solution. The gouge marks reveal the feathered Lacewood beneath the blackened surface for a double textured effect. A tall plant stand frame is being made to carry it.

Grerat feedback from customer in #Brockley #SELondon #Modernist #Diningtable & #Footstools in #EnglishOak

Hi Chris,

Thank you for the beautiful table and footstools. They look wonderful and fit the space perfectly. Thanks so much for your creativity and skill in bringing my ideas to life.

Mark
Brockley, London

Completed #Rietveld #RedBlueChair #modernism #destijlmovement #modernism

Our small project to construct the Rietveld Red Blue chair is completed apart from the painting. What fun!

This project was a discussion about paired back design; resisting all superfluous elements in design and architecture was Rietvelds ethos and MO. The restraint in this chair design is exercised to facilitate possible mass production but also to achieve maximum visual impact, the chair is visually arresting from all angles and I cannot remember working on a chair design with so much negative space!

Making the #Reitveld #RedBlueChair #modernism #destijlmovement #modernism

The chair is now jointed and glued up. It looks and feels very stable and solid, the low centre of gravity of the frame is more pronouced without the seat and backrest.

Reitvelds ideas for the Red Blue chair, as with much of the early furniture design, centred around contemporary techniques and technology.  It is in this spirit that we elected to use a Festool Domino and its accompanying dowels rather than the round dowels specified in the original making notes.

Reproduction project #Reitveld #RedBlueChair #modernism #destijlmovement #modernism

Unique to this project, the customer has requested to participate in its making. In this film he is concentrating and keen to show me that he has listened to my instructions but has been fairly giddy all day.

He has so far been invaluable, sizing components, painstakingly marking out the dowel positions and even helped with the jointing machine. I may even persuade him to paint it!

Reproduction project #Reitveld #RedBlueChair #modernism #destijlmovement #modernism

The first project of the year is a reproduction of the Gerrit Reitveld Red Blue cahir from the 1920s. Reitveld first designed the chair in the early 1920s and it was left in its natiral colour or painted black. The familiar chair with the red blue and yellow was made in 1927.

The picture above shows Reitveld outside his workshop in Utrecht in the early 1920s, sitting in an early version of the chair. Reitveld was a hands on maker, prefering to design as he made, and was every bit the artisan that his cabinet maker father was.

#contemporary #table in #englishoak delivered to happy customer #furniture #designer #brockleytable #designermaker

The Brockley Table is delivered to its new home in Brockley, South East London. The clients brief was to create a modern piece using a timber of great character (English character Oak) and using traditional techniques. Some customers love the feel and the warmth of timber furniture, this customer went further and was also interested in the knarly, knotty, shaking characteristics of the timber - its so called imperfections. The final look and feel softens the modern form to great earthy effect.

Staggered #Maple #pedestal ready to assemble for #ArtDeco Dining table #walnut #furniture #wood #artisan

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