Peter Lanyon

Furniture maker

©Russel Sach

©Nina Constable

Natural shapes and curves

Peter loves the unique aesthetics of green wood furniture
He sources coppiced wood from a local forest
He uses a slow methodology and low energy technology

Peter Lanyon is an award-winning furniture maker, renowned for his breathtakingly beautiful creations made using sustainable, home-grown British hardwood. It all started when Peter spent a week with master chair maker Mike Abbot and he found the process of making a chair from a tree utterly absorbing and satisfying. “There were no ear defenders, no machines or dust, no goggles. Just birdsongs and the sound of sharp tools cutting through fresh green wood," he explains. There he also realised that what he wanted to do was to push the boundaries of green woodworking. “Not making rustic chairs and stools but developing a new language of furniture by combining the freshness and intuitive nature of working wet wood with the precision and versatility of “dry” woodworking," was a decision that changed his life.

Interview

©Russel Sach

©Nina Constable

What makes green wood so attractive?: I love creating with my hands. There is something about the warmth and the naturalness of wood and softness of it, that makes me love the material.
Do you always follow the natural curves of the wood?: Principally. I love the way grain tells the story of a tree's life and it seems a shame to me that so much furniture is straight and flat or has shapes designed on it. I love to work with the nuances that each tree or piece of wood has to offer.
Which is your favourite technique?: I combine green woodworking techniques with more traditional cabinet making techniques, and that is quite unusual as they tend to be two separate camps. I love both sides of woodworking and see them both as relevant to making today and complementary to each other.
Do you combine tradition and innovation?: I embrace all methodologies. I use traditional tools like side axe, froe and draw knife and ancient methods to split and shave the wood whilst embracing modern glues and methods of construction.

Peter Lanyon is a master artisan: he began his career in 1995 and he started teaching in 2011