CREATE – FURNITURE PROGRAMMES AT HIGHGROVE

The Snowdon School Of Furniture at Highgrove delivers two flagship courses for designers and makers, focused on developing furniture making skills using British timber.

In this technology rich world, the teaching of hand skills is sometimes overlooked. It is crucial for a maker to have a broad skill set at their disposal to get the highest quality outcome. Employers and clients value this knowledge and ability to work more intuitively in a modern workshop. Create aims to bridge the gap between further education and the workplace by sharing a modern approach to traditional skills and exposure to industry through workshop trips and visiting lecturers of varying backgrounds.

The Create programmes are rooted in the belief that timber is a sustainable material for buildings and furniture. We believe that if furniture makers understand the growing, harvesting, sawing and drying of timber, and its craft and production processes, then they can more effectively design and build furniture that is beautiful, functional and long-lasting. Our aim is to initiate a change in thinking as we educate designers, makers, landowners, councils and the public, to think holistically about how we value and use wood.

"THERE IS SUCH SATISFACTION TO BE ENJOYED FROM HAVING A HAND IN INFLUENCING THE LIFE CYCLE OF THAT RAW MATERIAL: DEVELOPING A GREATER UNDERSTANDING OF THE MATERIALS WITH WHICH I (YOU) WORK, APPRECIATING THEIR PROVENANCE, AND THEN TURNING THEM INTO SOMETHING BEAUTIFUL TO BE ENJOYED AND TREASURED."

Lord Snowdon

Create – Rethinking Wood for Furniture is aimed at recent graduates from furniture or design courses, or those early in their careers. Please follow this link to find out more.

Create Advanced is suitable for an existing maker who has experience in working with timber. Please follow this link to find out more.