Interesting pieces of furniture - 6

[Anonymous]

Hi all

The sixth piece of furniture in the series.

This one was another suggestion I received from a member in my 'inbox'

All he says is "Don't forget John Makepeace - you know that mind blowing chair in holly"

All are welcome to comment on the pieces and please pm me with links to any photos that you would like featured here and a few lines explaining why


I will copy all items of furniture I post here into a single sticky thread in the Design Forum, thus creating a pictorial 'list' of interesting furniture here

John's work can be seen here:
http://www.johnmakepeacefurniture.com/chairs/millennium.htm

 

[Anonymous]

If I can be first to comment on this one. Stunning does not do it justice in my opinion. The balance and delicacy are just right for me and the workmanship is quite extraordinary for such a complex piece.

Might add one to the tuit list

 

[dedee]

I'd love to see WIP images of that chair being put together. Shame that there is no side on view.
It certainly ticks all the boxes for what I would call interesting.

Andy

 

[StevieB]

:tongue9: I would be scared to sit on that! I think I would need to see it in the flesh so to speak to appreciate just how good that is - done in plastic it would be awful, crafted in timber it looks stunning.

I would also like to see some WIP shots - just how does he joint the back together?!

Very impressive indeed.

Steve.

 

[Buckeye]

I like it, very delicate, and would, as mentioned above, love to see WIP pictures of its construction. I also love the Burr Myrtle Thrones chairs on the site although as with a lot of this almost art furniture if there is such a phrase you really have to have the house to go with the furniture.

A lot of this stuff would look really out of place in the average British home. I guess that is the market for this stuff. High end prices for high end homes.

Can 'hand made or individually designed' however you want to call it furniture be done at a price that the average person can afford or is it always going to be aimed and the well to do?

 

[Chris Knight]

I rate this as a truly inspirational piece of furniture. Makepeace at his best is probably unbeatable.

 

[Neil]

A slightly clearer pic:

I love this piece - in fact I suggested it to Tony but someone obviously beat me to it! I can't imagine many pieces which would be more difficult to make than this one.

Might add one to the tuit list

If you pull that off you'll really have my admiration, Tony!

Cheers,
Neil

 

[Neil]

I rate this as a truly inspirational piece of furniture. Makepeace at his best is probably unbeatable.

I bet you could have a go at this, Chris - go on, you know you want to!

Cheers,
Neil

 

[woodbloke]

Fantastic, what a complex piece to make, not a straight line in it anywhere....ticks in all the boxes for this one - Rob

 

[Chris Knight]

I bet you could have a go at this, Chris - go on, you know you want to!

Your faith is touching Neil. However I reckon it's almost certainly beyond me!

I would like to have a go though.. The trouble is that I don't have the space for all the jigs I can see being needed!

Does anyone know where one can see the original?

 

[woodbloke]

waterhead37 wrote:

Does anyone know where one can see the original?

Probably in someones mansion who has allot of money - Rob

 

[Paul Chapman]

A fabulous piece - John Makepeace is a real innovator with the skills to turn his ideas into reality.

Cheers :wink:

Paul

 

[innesm]

Pretty unattractive, but I can see it must have been difficult to make.

The kind of thing Spiderman might commission, if he got rich?

 

[woodbloke]

Something similar in this piece, which I prefer as it appears to be more 'simple', if that's the correct terminology for work of this calibre. I also am very fond of the cane seat and back, something not often seen these days - Rob

http://www.johnmakepeacefurniture.com/chairs/mitre.htm

 

[Jake]

I'm going to have to dissent. Again, the craftsmanship is amazing, staggeringly well made, much like the Savage stuff.

But to me, it looks vile - I hate it. It tries far far too hard, the form is too fussy, far too ornamental, far too schtick gothicky for me.

I'd put it second to last in my list so far, just ahead of with the arts and crafts thing, notwithstanding that the craft that has gone into it is clearly many many leagues ahead of the maker of that piece.

Personally (all this stuff is very personal really, taste is so individual) I think again it illustrates that great makers and great designers have two very different skills, and the two don't necessarily combine. Great makers want to show off the limits of their craft, and that leads to this sort of stuff, which in terms of design really doesn't do it for me, although I'm awe of the skill involved in making it.

 

[DomValente]

It's a Makepeace, I'm humbled and could not possibly comment, but I just have , damn.

 

[Philly]

What an amazing looking piece. Imagine working out the compound curves so the looks "right" when viewed. Fantasic, and I'm sure it is a comfortable chair. Kinda fulfil's the function side of things, too.
Philly

 

[Inspector]

It is a beautiful chair for sure that few have the combination of craftsmanship and artistic ability to create.
The only possible criticism one could make is that someday when it needs to be repaired or re-glued, it will be almost impossible to find someone with the skill to fix it.

 

[Alf]

Once again my boring old cry is "how's the function?" Is it comfortable to sit on? I've had the misfortune to spend some time sitting on a Makepeace-designed chair and I didn't enjoy the experience. Other than that it's had the misfortune to be frequently shown in books and magazines that I can't honestly bring a fresh eye to bear on it. I s'pose really I feel if you're going to make something in wood, and a difficult wood like holly to boot, why would you want to make it look like an extruded plastic mould. :?

Cheers, Alf
Philistine

 

[greybeard]

Could I sit in it? Yes - at least long enough to discover how comfortable/uncomfortable it is (sorry Alf, I have to try everything for myself at least once!). To me it looks strong for all its airyness and light, and that hollow back should provide some support.

Would it fit in my house? Not this house!

Could I ( and would I want to) make one? Nope, never! Not even one like it, sort of, ish!

So my boat is on the water, but that's about it - no floating, no paddling!