Chippendale School 2022 Graduate Showcase

The Chippendale International School of Furniture recently celebrated its 37th Graduate Exhibition and Fine Furniture Sale. The four-day event, held between 15–18 June at the School’s East Lothian premises, was an impressive display of talent, skill and craftsmanship from the School’s 27 Professional Course graduates.

Travelling from across the globe to attend the nine-month furniture making course, this year’s graduating students have crafted some truly exquisite pieces, which made for an exceptional graduation show. In addition to teaching students key woodworking skills and techniques, the Professional Course also places a focus on marketing and business development to ensure that graduates can go on to successfully establish and run their own furniture making businesses.

The School’s Principal, Tom Fraser, described the annual event as a “celebration of woodworking and a momentous occasion for graduates as they begin the next chapter of their furniture making careers.” For more information on the School, visit www.chippendaleschool.com.

GROUP 1: Taught by Matthew Brebner

Alirio Pinilla – Pinali Furniture – 2022 ‘Student of the Year’

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Alirio Pinilla and his final pieces

Instagram: @pinali.furniture
Web: www.pinali.co

Following a long career in manufacturing, Alirio shifted his attention to a more creative career path and retrained as an industrial designer. Studying on The Chippendale School’s Professional Course, Alirio has found joy in a calmer pace of life, dedicating his time to building impressive pieces of fine furniture.

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Console in rosewood, American white oak and birch ply – 1,200mm wide × 480mm deep × 750mm high

A skilled cabinetmaker, Alirio’s designs are at once intricate and robust, timeless yet contemporary, showcasing his unique style and craftsmanship. Under his business, Pinali Furniture, Alirio aims to create treasured items, which bring joy to the people that use them.

Ben Williams – JAM Studio

Instagram: @jam_studio__

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Ben with his solid beech desk/drawers, complete with walnut pins

Having lived and worked in Japan, Canada, Europe and Australia, Ben has witnessed first hand the unique ways in which various cultures deal with functionality and natural materials. While studying at The Chippendale School, Ben has been able to explore the intersection of traditional craftsmanship and the magic of unexpected functions through his work.

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Solid walnut drop leaf table

Committed to honouring and complementing the wood’s unique properties, his style is sophisticated and polished. Ben plans on moving to Canada at the end of the year to find an apprenticeship, before one day starting his own workshop.

Karthik Dilipan – Treeform Woodworking Studio – ‘Public’s choice'

Instagram: @jam_studio__
Web: www.treeformwoodworkingstudio.com

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Karthik with his six-seater walnut dining table and chairs

Karthik has always been intrigued by the versatile nature of wood. A self-taught woodworker since 2018, the Professional Course has broadened his knowledge as well as fine-tuning his skills as a furniture maker.

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Solid walnut drop leaf table

Karthik creates bespoke pieces of fine furniture under the trade name ‘Treeform Woodworking Studio’, employing both traditional and contemporary joinery techniques to produce stunning designs. Karthik’s ambitions don’t stop there, however; he intends to share his appreciation and awareness of quality craftsmanship with everyone around him.

At Treeform Woodworking Studio, dreams are turned into reality and the possibilities really are endless.

Katie Richter – Rivers and Roots Furniture

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Katie with her ‘Zulu Collection’ dressing table and chair

Wherever Katie has travelled, she’s looked to create, but it was studying engineering that initially sparked a love for expressing her creativity in a physical form. This love has only grown, culminating in a desire to study woodworking.

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Katie’s childhood in South Africa and travels to Asia, as well as her former career as an outdoor adventure instructor, have greatly influenced her design aesthetic. Inspired by life experiences, Katie combines cultural diversity, nature and technical ability to design and produce pieces of furniture that reflect the beauty she sees in the world. Through her work, Katie hopes to share her passion and educate others.

Marion Morris – Marion Makes – ‘Thomas Chippendale award for marketing’

Instagram: @marion_makes
Web: www.marionmakes.co.uk

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Marion with her ‘Haruki’ cabinet in ash and ebonised oak

After working in the corporate world, Marion waved goodbye to a nine-to-five job and began to explore her creative talents. The Edinburgh creator has bought together her love of art, design and woodworking to launch Marion Makes. Her pieces combine wood, paint and fabric, resulting in creative yet functional furniture.

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‘Bonnie Box’ – keepsake toy box/blanket box

Having lived in Japan and Scotland, Marion’s pieces are often inspired by these beautiful countries. In terms of what’s next, she plans to expand her home line, range of storage benches and begin to explore wooden toys. She also looks forward to working with clients on bespoke commissions and prides herself on a design process that’s sensitive to their ideas while incorporating her own unique aesthetics. Marion is bursting at the seams with ideas.

GROUP 2: Taught by Grant Anderson

David Hanlon – Adhmad Mín

Instagram: @adhmadmin

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David with his final pieces, including a hall table with bent laminations

From computer science to fine furniture, David explores the techniques of steam-bending and laminations to create seamless curves in his pieces, giving the final work an elegant look. For onlookers, the eye is deceived into thinking the furniture has grown in this form.

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David’s incredibly intricate wine rack

David takes an innovative approach to woodworking. Exploring the kitchen island and the space it occupies, he created a mechanism to allow the island to travel freely throughout the kitchen – and the result? The space becomes more dynamic and expansive, with room created where the island once stood. David plans to continue woodworking in his Irish homeland.

Malcolm Mackenzie

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Malcolm with his final pieces

A crofter and artist from Plockton, Malcolm graduated from Glasgow School of Art’s Sculpture and Environmental Art Programme in 2018. Seeking ways to bring people together through collaborative making, Malcolm’s practice is centred on social and community engagement.

 

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Exploring form over perfection, his work on the Professional Course is inspired by the urban landscape but speaks to a more rural vernacular and resourcefulness, finding ways to make by reusing other’s waste wood.

Malcolm will leave The Chippendale School to begin an 18-month project building two coastal rowing skiffs alongside Atlas Arts and the communities of Lochalsh & Skye as part of Creative Scotland’s Culture Collective.

Francisco Pimentel – Arrayan Furniture

Instagram: @arrayanfurniture

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Francisco with his two final designs

A scientist turned woodworker, Valerio has long been interested in creative projects and learning new skills. After discovering a love for woodworking, he made a decision to leave the laboratory in order to craft functional designs, built to the customer’s needs.

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Valerio loves finding solutions for real problems, yet always with an eye on aesthetics and style. Practical yet artistic in nature, he perfectly combines functionality with creativity. After graduating, Valerio intends to build on his experience working in the fitted furniture industry, while also taking client commissions.

Ildikó Somorjai – Bauplan Studio

Instagram: @bauplanstudio

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Ildikó with one of her final pieces

Ildikó has a background in scientific research and spent the last 15 years working in academic institutions across North America, Europe and the UK. Growing up in the foothills of the Laurentians, she’s inspired by the “imperfect perfection” of nature, and the precarious relationship between urban/human and natural environments.

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In her work, Ildikó attempts to explore the concept of metamorphosis and the evolution of biological form and function, incorporating contrast and pattern into architectural pieces. Ildikó hopes to continue challenging herself on the journey as a designer-maker, sustainably combining wood and other materials in art and furniture to define her unique style.

GROUP 3: Taught by Andrew Cockerill

Ania Boryslawska – Doyenne Woodworks

Instagram: @doyenne_woodworks

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Ania with her final work, including the ‘Jolene’ cabinet in elm, cherry, sycamore and maple with hand-gilded detailing and brass fixtures

Ania’s design aesthetic stems from a childhood in San Francisco and years spent as a young adult in Los Angeles. Just as the nostalgic façades of these iconic cities are positioned among the scape of modernisation, Ania’s furniture is a fusion of innovation and sentimentality.

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‘The Wallace’ – duo level coffee table in Scottish elm with turned legs in flamed sycamore, a hand-gilded mirror tray and brass feet

Ania beautifully combines her artistic eye with great technical ability, creating pieces that inspire joy and a sense of playfulness, while ensuring to maintain a high degree of functionality.

Carl Fink – The Finkus

Instagram: @thefinkus

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Building and designing furniture had always been a dream of Carl’s. After graduating from university in 2021, he decided to make that dream a reality. With a passion to innovate and experiment with different techniques and materials, Carl’s spent the last nine months on the Professional Course building pieces that are both well designed and well crafted.

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Solid oak piece designed to organise the user’s living space; 24k kintsugi footstool; bench

Combining his strengths in aesthetics and content creation, Carl plans to market his products online under the brand ‘TheFinkus’, continuing to push his design practice.

Ellie Agnew – Agnew Workings

Instagram: @agnewworkings

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Ellie with her final pieces, including the ‘Tempest’ cabinet

Ellie has been working in events as a freelance lighting and sound technician for the past seven years. Before the pandemic hit, she was looking at changing direction, and on driving past The Chippendale School last summer, felt that she might have struck upon something good.

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The future is unknown, and our world is constantly changing: ecologically, socially and creatively. One positive step is that women are gaining roles in previously male-dominated industries, such as furniture making. Ellie hopes to go on to create beautiful furniture for people while considering the environmental impact of the industry, by incorporating the practices of reuse, up-cycling and restoration in her work.

Valerio Marconi – V Maker Woodworking

Instagram: @v_maker_woodworking

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Valerio with his artist’s desk in walnut veneer

A scientist turned woodworker, Valerio has long been interested in creative projects and learning new skills. After discovering a love for woodworking, he made a decision to leave the laboratory in order to craft functional designs, built to the customer’s needs.

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Shoe rack

Valerio loves finding solutions for real problems, yet always with an eye on aesthetics and style. Practical yet artistic in nature, he perfectly combines functionality with creativity. After graduating, Valerio intends to build on his experience working in the fitted furniture industry, while also taking client commissions.

Zaman Hazir – 'Student’s choice’

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Zaman with his three final pieces

Zaman Hazir loves to think. In his opinion, the act of doing is a waste of precious time and the earth’s even more precious resources. 30 weeks at The Chippendale School have reinforced his belief that if humanity just thought of doing, instead of actually doing, it’d greatly reduce the impact of bad designs on the planet and as a result, there’d be peace on earth.

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Right now, you’re probably thinking ‘useless fool’, but that’s good. At least he’s got you thinking. Now, think on.

GROUP 4: Taught by Hugh parsons

Ben Murgatroyd – BWM Furniture

Instagram: @bwm_furniture

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Ben with his completed pieces

Leaving a career in the travel and tourism industry, Ben enrolled on the Professional Course in a bid to carve out a new path for himself.

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The ‘Waterfall’ sideboard

A lover of nature and the outdoors, Ben’s designs highlight the material’s natural beauty and organic forms, while absorbing as many techniques and methods as possible. Ben plans to combine his new love of furniture making with a passion for wilderness guiding and travel.

Emma Sauvage – Treadwell Studio

Instagram: @treadwell.studio

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Emma with her final three pieces

Emma decided to put her career in nursing on hold in order to pursue woodworking. As someone who finds great joy in working with her hands, she wanted to take time to explore her creativity through this new medium. Although Emma is still developing her individual aesthetic, much of her inspiration is derived from the shapes and patterns she observes in the natural world.

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Emma aims to one day have her own workshop where she’ll focus on creating sustainable, beautiful and functional pieces, which are designed to be well used, injecting beauty and practicality into the home.

Laurence Veitch – Laurence Veitch Furniture

Instagram: @laurenceveitchfurniture
Web: www.laurenceveitch.com

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Laurence with a few more of his final pieces

Drawing on a range of influences from product design to graffiti and philosophy, Laurence aims to merge craft, design and art in his furniture. After leaving design school, he gained hands-on experience from master craftsmen in Scandinavia. Returning to the UK, Laurence worked with designers Sam and Maggie Booth to build modern eco-homes before pursuing a dream of designing and making furniture under his own direction.

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'Sitrus' stool

After nine months of hard work on the Professional Course, Laurence has developed a unique style inspired by simplistic modern design, contemporary design and traditional vernacular furniture, but always with an emphasis on quality and sustainability.

Mauriel Ojeda – Mojo Made Woodworks

Instagram: @mojomadewoodworks
Web: www.mojomadewoodworks.com

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Mauriel with his final pieces

Mauriel has worked many an odd job, from commercial crab fishing and surf companies, to recording studios and eventually construction. Never afraid to take a leap of faith, he’s now found himself in Scotland learning the finer side of craftsmanship.

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‘The Bolt’ – a ‘70s inspired single fin surfboard with modern elements; various hand planes and paipos; handmade skateboard

Looking to the future, Mauriel is working on starting his own company, ‘Mojo Made’, creating traditional wooden surfboards as well as bespoke pieces of built-in and standalone furniture. Drawing upon past life experiences, Mauriel enjoys creating functional pieces inspired by his many passions, journeys and California roots. Just like the ebb and flow of the ocean, Mauriel hopes his pieces will be timeless.

GROUP 5: Taught by Ben Dawson

Chaska Schuler – ChaskArt Furniture

Instagram: @chaskart_furniture
Web: www.chaskart.ch

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Before enrolling on the Professional Course, Chaska completed a four-year cabinetmaking apprenticeship in Switzerland. Her interests include furniture history, design, restoration, veneering, steam-bending, inlaying, marquetry and parquetry, gilding as well as business management.

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Sideboard in solid sycamore, ash, beech and sapele painted with acrylic – 850mm high × 975mm wide × 310/205mm deep

Chaska finds inspiration in the tree’s connection to the cosmos through Mother Earth, creating the most wonderful material in existence. She feels a deep spiritual connection with the material, which is expressed through her craft, as well as in the relationships built with clients, with whom she embarks on a creative journey.

After graduation, Chaska will spend a few more months on the road, gaining new experiences and deepening her knowledge and skills, before establishing her own woodworking business.

Daniel Smith – Studio Smiddy

Instagram: @studiosmiddy
Web: www.studiosmiddy.com

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Daniel with the final pieces in his ‘Studio Smiddy’ collection

Considering Daniel couldn’t use a drill on day one of the Professional Course, the past nine months haven’t gone too badly for the founder of Studio Smiddy. Having previously enjoyed a career in comedy festivals, Daniel has swapped the laughs for the lathe and endeavours to create pieces of work he’d love to own but can’t afford.

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Coffee table in elm burr and birch ply – 900 × 900 × 410mm and undulated bench in fiddleback mahogany and birch ply – 1,200 × 450 × 400mm

Inspired by Mid-century modern and Memphis styles, he seeks to create fun yet functional pieces, which also act as a design focal point. Under the Studio Smiddy brand, Daniel aims to continue pushing and expanding his design practice while earning enough to subsidise his love of M&S food.

Kyle Woodman – Woodman Woodworks

Instagram: @woodmanwoodworks

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Kyle with his final pieces

Kyle came to Scotland from Portland, Oregon where he’s worked for the past seven years in experiential retail design. Kyle has always loved making and building, so decided to attend the Chippendale School in order to cultivate and refine his fine woodworking skills.

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His inspirations are varied, including George Nakashima, designer and furniture maker Kylle Sebree, and the simple functionality of Shaker furniture. He strives to create accessible, high quality, functional furniture and is planning to open his own woodworking shop, Woodman Woodworks, upon returning to Oregon.

Shane Corstorphine – Woodbee Workshop

Instagram: @woodbee.workshop

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Shane’s final pieces contain various references to nature

Passionate about bees and woodworking, Shane has revelled in bringing both together in his fine furniture designs. Keen observers of Shane’s work will note references to nature reflected in various designs in the form of hexagonal patterns and unique craftsmanship.

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Shane’s engineering background coming to the fore, he seeks to combine function with form. An admiration for simplicity is reflected in his portfolio of designs, allowing the natural beauty of the materials to take centre stage. Shane plans to continue his work at Myreside Studios, where he’ll develop pieces that combine the natural world with fine furniture demands.

GROUP 6: Taught by Graham Davies

Molly Johnston – Oddball Studio – ‘Best Design’

Instagram: @woodbee.workshop
Web: www.oddballstudio.co

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Molly with her ‘Memphis’ bookcase

From fashion shows to fine furniture making, Molly entered the world of woodworking following eight years of working as a Fashion & Home Stylist and Set Designer. After daydreaming about the Chippendale School of Furniture for seven years, she decided to take the leap and see where her maker hands could lead her, and they didn’t disappoint.

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‘The Ingrid’ – a playful all-purpose table perfectly suited to sparking creativity

Molly’s a colour enthusiast, thoroughly obsessed with patterns, feel-good textures and unabashedly in love with 80’s vibes. Under her brand Oddball Studio, she seeks to excite a form of communication between object and user, using the playful, yet striking aesthetic of the Memphis Pop era melded with flowing organic lines. Molly’s aim is for the viewer to stand in front of her pieces and yearn to touch, move around, unlock a nostalgic memory, and ignite their inner child. After all, furniture should be a little Odd.

Luca Dal Molin – DMS Furniture

Instagram: @dms_furniture

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Luca with his final designs

After over 30 years working in the aviation industry, Luca decided to follow his passion for woodworking and enrolled on The Chippendale International School of Furniture’s Professional Course. “I’m attracted to beautiful things around me,” he explains: “Elegance, clean lines and curves inspire my design. Every piece of furniture I produce has a story behind it; I love listening to my client’s needs and creating something meaningful for them.”

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The ‘Ocean Wave’ – Krenov-style cabinet

Using traditional techniques with a mix of hand tools and machines, Luca creates beautifully unique, high-quality pieces, which are designed to last for generations to come.

Javier Salvatierra

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Javier with one of his final pieces

Raised in Chile, Javier comes from a country where wood speaks in order to tell stories. From the Roman Cassie in the northern desert, to the Araucaria forests, between volcanoes and lakes in the South, Javier grew up surrounded by nature.

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After several years in the corporate world, however, he finally decided to go back to his roots. A perfectionist artisan, Javier is determined to conceive his ideas. His projects combine the technical and organic, which results in the creation of high-end furniture with simple, elegant designs. The next step is starting his own workshop in the Southwest of France… hopefully, in the middle of a big forest.

Nick Charles – Elemental Workshop

Instagram: @workshop_elemental

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Nick with his final pieces, including the ‘Gambit’ games table

Nick spent the bulk of his 20s backpacking year-round, working between hospitality gigs and volunteer projects, and while the service jobs paid the bills, it was through the latter that his love of woodworking was born. Building houses, barns, camper vans and permaculture garden systems, Nick knew that this was his true calling, and so he set in motion a way to hone this passion into something that he could do full time.

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Nick doesn’t like to stay monogamous to one particular style, however, commenting that “with a history of ideas at your fingertips, why pick one outfit for life?,” electing instead to follow his inspiration wherever it may lead. More often than not, he’ll design a piece around the material’s natural beauty.

Aidan Inglis – Aidan Inglis Wuid

Instagram: @aidan_inglis_wuid

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Aidan with one of his final pieces

Before enrolling on the Chippendale School’s Professional Course, Aidan had spent the majority of his time overseas repairing wind turbines. Deciding to make a change, he looked to pursue a more purposeful career while channelling his existing skills into a creative outlet.

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Aidan creates his pieces using a combination of traditional hand tool craftsmanship and modern techniques, using 3D software to modify designs before finalising and beginning the making process. Aidan’s designs are clean and considered, often taking inspiration from Japanese and Scandinavian simplicity and function, and he intends to carry this focus forward into the future.

FURTHER INFORMATION
To find out more about the Chippendale School’s intensive 30-week Professional Course, see www.chippendaleschool.com/cabinet-making-courses/professional-course

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