Category Archives: chair making

Rocking Chair Rush Seat

Posted on November 14, 2012 by stevetomlin

I’ve spent a couple of days weaving the rush seat on the new rocking chair and I’m pretty happy with the results. The colours in the rushes are beautiful, a mix of greens and yellows which complement the ash well. … Continue reading →

Posted in chair making, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged ash, chair, green wood, ladderback, rocking, rush, seat, UK | Leave a comment

Ladderback rocking chair

Posted on November 9, 2012 by stevetomlin

A couple of photos from a rocking chair commission I’ve been working on. This is a ladderback style chair made of ash from the Edenhall Estate near Penrith with specially narrow slats to lighten the effect of the frame. For … Continue reading →

Posted in chair making, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged ash, chair, green wood, ladderback, rocking, UK | Leave a comment

Keeping busy through the summer

Posted on July 3, 2012 by stevetomlin

June went by in a flash and I realised I hadn’t written anything here all month. It’s mowing season so a lot of my time at the moment is taken up with scythes – find out about it on Scytherspace, … Continue reading →

Posted in chair making, SteveTomlinCrafts, wooden rakes | Tagged CANW, chisel, green wood, greenwood, hay rakes, hayrake, rake, rake making, sheath, wooden, wooden rakes | Leave a comment

Willow chair seating

Posted on February 15, 2012 by stevetomlin

I wanted to learn how to weave the willow seat that I had found on the chairs made by David Drew. They had aged beautifully during their time in the Castle Drogo cafe and worn extremely well so I knew … Continue reading →

Posted in chair making, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged black and white chair, chair, David Drew, green wood, oak, pickled, willow seat | Leave a comment

Pickled oak chair

Posted on February 6, 2012 by stevetomlin

So me and my Castle Drogo chair (the only furniture I owned at the time) moved to Cumbria. In time I decided that I would make this one-slat chair part of my new range of handmade green wood chairs. It … Continue reading →

Posted in chair making, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged black, black and white chair, Castle Drogo, chair, David Drew, green wood, ladderback, oak, pickled, willow seat | Leave a comment

Rescuing the Castle Drogo chairs

Posted on February 3, 2012 by stevetomlin

In 2008, a visit to a cafe set in motion a series of connections leading to my newest chair design. I was at Castle Drogo, a National Trust property in Devon where I was living at the time. After a fairly … Continue reading →

Posted in chair making, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged basket maker, black and white chair, Castle Drogo, chair, David Drew, green wood, ladderback, National Trust, oak, willow seat | 6 Comments

Blue spindleback dining chair

Posted on January 25, 2012 by stevetomlin

In between everything else I’m spending quite a bit of time at the moment on designing a series of chairs. I’ve been making green wood chairs since I did a course with Mike Abbott in Herefordshire in 2003. I did … Continue reading →

Posted in chair making, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged chair, contemporary, egg, green wood, Mike Abbott, paint, paper rush, rush seat, shaker, spindle back, tempera, traditional | Leave a comment

Steambending Course 2011

Posted on August 7, 2011 by stevetomlin

After last year’s success, Charlie Whinney and I again ran an intensive steambending workshop for four furniture makers demonstrating the amazing possibilities in bending solid wood using steam. My role is to organise the workshop and ensure that everything runs … Continue reading →

Posted in chair making, SteveTomlinCrafts | Tagged charlie whinney, course, greenwood, steam bending | Leave a comment