A Chip off the old block
IT’S 300 years since the birth of Thomas Chippendale, the English cabinet-maker and designer responsible for some of Britain’s most treasured heirlooms. But while Yorkshire-born Chippendale created the brand in 1754 when he published a pattern book for clients to choose from, it was his 50- strong artisan workforce that made the furniture.
Chippendale and his son (also Thomas) created designs in the “Gothic, Chinese and modern taste”, modern being the French Rococo style and this entrepreneurial approach is similar to the way we choose furniture today. We may visit department stores or look online but we usually choose from ready-made designs.
Now many of us are also looking for a signature piece that might become a family heirloom, such as the Matador Armchair by Terence Conran, right.
Investing
It’s been noted at John Lewis, where furniture buyer David Barrett says: “We are seeing people investing in well-made, beautifully designed pieces for the home that will stand the test of time.”
Another of these is the Harp Chair, developed and handcrafted by Simon Pengelly for British chair makers Sitting Firm (024 7640 7930; sittingfirm.co.uk), and Barrett says: “The Harp is rooted by traditional chair-making expertise yet adopts a fresh and contemporary feel.”
Chippendale created more than 100 items of furniture for Nostell Priory in Yorkshire. Now a National Trust property, it is celebrating its collection and has an online exhibition of his work (nationaltrust.org.uk/nostell).
As for the Harp chair, created for John Lewis’s Croft Collection, it’s one of the store’s main launches this year. John Lewis Croft Collection Simon Pengelly Harp Chair in oak, £1,200 (03456 049049; johnlewis. com)