I sat in a timber converters workshop last week up in the hills in the Lake district.
They use sustainably sourced timber to slice and kiln dry.
Im sat there with a cup of tea chatting about the usual.
How business was going, prices etc.
We got talking about furniture design as they also make bespoke builds.
When I first visited some 20 years ago all the carcase builds used traditional joints with drawers all being dovetailed.
For some reason I asked if they had introduced any of the new methods of build after confessing to using more and more metal drawer runners in my own furniture designs.
I was awaiting the backlash to come.
But it didn't.
Instead I got a story about the changing customer ignorance to what high end furniture actually was today and the need for cost and time reduction.
Now in my day the first thing any secondary school pupil would have been able to tell you was that dovetails and mortice and tennons were the stape to any project.
This was thanks to the double period in the schools wood working class once a week.
And Id better mention the girls too who once a week caught our bus home with wicker baskets covered in startched tea towels ,hiding steak and potatoe pies or apple crumble. Made with their own delicate hands in the cookery class.
The aroma filling the entire bus and making every school boys stomach rumble
Back on track...
They talked about the fact that most of todays customers only wanted the look of an expensive piece and when confronted with the offer of dovetailed drawers or kitchen type side runners...which they invariably had no knowledge about...nearly everyone wanted the latter.
It made it sound like traditional builds were a thing of the past.
"So have you resorted to using dominos, or kreg screws yet?" I asked.
They threw their last dregs of tea away turned and looking bewildered said.
"I think we've some way to go yet before we'll be supplying complete flat packs".
They use sustainably sourced timber to slice and kiln dry.
Im sat there with a cup of tea chatting about the usual.
How business was going, prices etc.
We got talking about furniture design as they also make bespoke builds.
When I first visited some 20 years ago all the carcase builds used traditional joints with drawers all being dovetailed.
For some reason I asked if they had introduced any of the new methods of build after confessing to using more and more metal drawer runners in my own furniture designs.
I was awaiting the backlash to come.
But it didn't.
Instead I got a story about the changing customer ignorance to what high end furniture actually was today and the need for cost and time reduction.
Now in my day the first thing any secondary school pupil would have been able to tell you was that dovetails and mortice and tennons were the stape to any project.
This was thanks to the double period in the schools wood working class once a week.
And Id better mention the girls too who once a week caught our bus home with wicker baskets covered in startched tea towels ,hiding steak and potatoe pies or apple crumble. Made with their own delicate hands in the cookery class.
The aroma filling the entire bus and making every school boys stomach rumble
Back on track...
They talked about the fact that most of todays customers only wanted the look of an expensive piece and when confronted with the offer of dovetailed drawers or kitchen type side runners...which they invariably had no knowledge about...nearly everyone wanted the latter.
It made it sound like traditional builds were a thing of the past.
"So have you resorted to using dominos, or kreg screws yet?" I asked.
They threw their last dregs of tea away turned and looking bewildered said.
"I think we've some way to go yet before we'll be supplying complete flat packs".
