How we work
Our working methods are unusual. You’d probably expect that, given how unusual our sofas are. They grow out of our enthusiasm to keep it new and fresh, and our pleasure in sharing the whole process with customers, colleagues, friends... anyone who will listen, really. We’re confident about our skills and abilities, and enthusiastic about spreading the word. So here’s how we do it. And if you want to see the process up close and personal, you only have to ask.
1. The notion floats in...
It all starts with an idea. That can come from a conversation with a customer or a walk in the woods. It can be inspired by a painting or a memory, an interior or a song. Anything at all. Then there’s the process of transforming a concept into a sofa. Colour, shape, size, the form becomes clearer and takes shape... in the mind, on the back of envelopes, doodled on the newspaper... This can happen almost immediately, or it can develop over days and weeks. When it’s ready, it’s committed to working sketches.
2. Starting to become real...
The working sketches are the stage at which the idea starts to become a seat. All the practical problems are worked through, all the angles are considered. Shapes, colours, textures, fluffiness (where appropriate). If the design has been commissioned by a customer, there will be a process of presentation, adjustment, approval. If it’s a product of our own inspiration, we’ll talk about it, pin it to the wall, go away and think about something else, come back and pretend we haven’t seen it before. A similar process, we just have to do it on our own.
3. The millimetre-perfect masterplan...
Once the sketches are approved, we have to work out how the bits you see will all be held together and supported by the bits you don’t. We plan the construction, decide how the woodwork is going to be shaped, what kind of joints will be used to hold it together, work out all the sizes of the cushions and paddings and finishing touches. At the end of this stage, we’ll have a full set of templates for the woodwork, fabric and upholstery. We know exactly how we’re going to build it.
4. The skeleton rises...
The first thing to take shape is the timber frame of the sofa. The carcase, robust and seriously strong. Using perfectly seasoned wood, meticulously selected, we hand-craft the individual parts and check them against the templates. Once assembled, they form the core of the sofa, briefly appreciated then forever hidden from view. We’d just like you to remember, from time to time, that underneath the fabric and the padding there’s a rather beautiful, and often quite ingenious, sculptural form being taken for granted.
5. Et voila!
The frame gradually disappears under a thick skin of expertly selected fabric and skilfully applied upholstery. It’s a very special skill, combining looks with tactile perfection. It has to be comfy when you sit on it, satisfying when you run your hand over it, inspiring when you look at it. Cushions are hand-made and fitted, details and finishing touches are applied. Then everything is examined and checked. The vision has become reality, ready to go and take its place in the world. Parting is always sad, but we try to be grown-up about it.
