About
The Marchmont Workshop, founded by award-winning designers Richard Platt and Sam Cooper in 2020, is one of the last homes of the rush-seated chair, a once commonplace craft that had been in danger of disappearing.
Their story starts in 2018, when Richard and Sam studied with mentor Lawrence Neal, the last rush-seated chair maker practicing in the UK, himself continuing the legacy Ernest Gimson and Phillip Clissett.
After two years learning with Lawrence, and with the generosity of Hugo Burge the duo moved north to the Marchmont Estate to ensure the craft had a home for generations to come and in 2024, they took the next leap as custodians of this Heritage Craft, welcoming the first apprentice Isaac Uden.
Their furniture starts with the first principles of woodworking, selecting trees from the woodlands around the workshop and harvesting their own rushes each summer sustainably and responsibly.
Every chair is then sawn, turned, steam-bent, assembled and woven by hand in the workshop in the Scottish Borders. Richard and Sam believe good furniture should last a lifetime, and by using traditional skills and techniques passed down from master to apprentice through six generations, they can achieve just that.
Richard and Sam’s designs range from classics, from the Arts and Crafts movement, to the latest more contemporary additions, inspired by the processes and environments that shape their furniture. All utilising the strength, beauty and versatility of native timbers and their iconic rush seat.
