FAQs

Q. Can you make me a thingy cheap?

A. No. And it should be Cheaply, it's an adverb.

Q. How much will a whatsit cost?

A. Almost certainly more than you think. It's usually a case of If You Have To Ask...

Q. Why is bespoke furniture so expensive?

A. For a number of reasons. Mass-produced furniture which comes from far-flung parts of the world is made by men, women and children who can live like everyone else they know on just a few dollars a day. I can't do that.

The timber they use is often raped from the ground without any forestry management. I use renewable timber from well-managed forests. There is a cost associated with this.

We don't really have much of a commercial forestry industry left in this country, so most of my timber comes from the US and Canada. It's expensive to ship.

Finally, when you have a piece individually made, it has to be drawn up or modelled first, I can't just go into my workshop and start cutting up timber and hope that it will turn out right. The whole cost of the design stage has to be put onto a single piece, instead of being amortized over tens, hundreds or even hundreds of thousands of the same piece.

Q. So why should I be interested?

A. Ah, well, it's exciting! With a bespoke piece you get exactly what you want. The size, shape, functionality. It's unique. It's beautiful. And no-one else has one quite the same. You get the sort of quality you don't get here.

Q. So what's involved?

A. Well I need to get clear about what you want. Collect pictures of things you like, and things you don't like. It helps to give me an idea of your taste. I may want to see the space which the piece will occupy, to give me an idea of what will be suitable. If you are prepared to tell me your budget, it saves me spending time designing a 10K bedroom suite if you only have a 3K budget, for example.

When we have an idea of want we want to achieve, the next step is to commission some design work. I will prepare drawings and costings. This work is chargeable, but you are not commited to going ahead with the actual commissioning of the manufacture. Once we agree on a specification and price, the making starts. You will be expected to make a 25% deposit at this stage, the balance being payable upon delivery.

Q. Ooh, I rather like this idea, how do we start?

A. Email me.