The Forge Chair

Things from nature have something about them that are pleasant to the eye. It’s a part of the natural World that most of us humans can appreciate, especially when it is in the form of furniture. Most of us will have a piece of furniture made of wood or metal or a combination of the two in our houses. They work beautifully together. Richard remembers as a boy being in awe seeing the massive iron handles and hinges on his local Church door. “The huge oak panels and the blacksmithed hinges just seemed to merge together to become one”.

Crafts people have used both for centuries; partly because it was all they had. They made items to cherish, decorate and that were practical for their homes. We have always wanted to combine wood and metal together to make something special and so when Made by the Forge got the chance to work with designer Chris Eckersely and master craftsman Dave Green we were were really excited.

Chris (above) specialises in chairs and furniture made from wood. We invited Chris to our forge to learn some blacksmithing skills and then Chris went away and came up with plans for a wooden chair with forged ironwork integrated within it.

The back slats that are normally made of wood have been replaced by ironwork. We used a piece of round bar and then heated and forged it flat so that it would be softer to the seated persons back. The stay that joins the legs together was also made of iron. Chris decided to keep the whole piece natural and so we finished the iron parts of the chair in beeswax.

We took the ironwork parts to Dave Green, who owns the renowned British chair makers Sitting Firm. He had the task of making all the wooden parts and then putting the chair together. He carefully chose English Ash and Elm from the shores of Loch Lomond. Every chair is individual as the grain of the wood will never be the same, the hammer marks are never in the same spot so it is therefore a special and a true piece of traditional craftsmanship. The end result was a stunning piece of furniture.

If you would more information on this chair then please get in touch by calling us on: +44 (0)1473 487118 or to speak with Richard direct on 07787 542 860 or email us at sales@madebytheforge.co.uk.

Every chair is hand made and hand built by Made by the Forge and Sitting Firm. If you would like to sit on the chair and experience how comfortable it is then please call to arrange a sitting!