Sam Cooper & Richard Platt

The Marchmont Workshop

Chair maker

©Jennifer Charlton Photography

©The Marchmont Workshop

The custodians of traditional ladderback chairs

Sam and Richard employ traditional designs and processes
They have set up a workshop making historic rush seated ladderback chairs
They are located on the Marchmont Estate in the Scottish Borders

In 2020, Sam Cooper and Richard Platt had the opportunity to set up a traditional rush seated chairmaking workshop located on the Marchmont Estate, in the heart of the Scottish Borders, thanks to the commitment and financial support of entrepreneur and arts-and-crafts patron Hugo Burge together with the Heritage Crafts Association. The workshop itself is brand new but their craft is traditional in terms of designs, processes and methods. The two artisans learnt everything about the craft directly from Lawrence Neal, the protagonist of “The Chairmaker” film and sole custodian of the secrets handed down by the fathers of the traditional rush seated ladderback chairs – Philip Clisset and Ernest Gimson – which are still popular in the country.

Interview

©The Marchmont Workshop

©The Marchmont Workshop

How did you get to open the Marchmont Workshop?: For both of us it was a mix of talent, ambition and luck. In 2018, we were chosen for an apprenticeship with Lawrence Neal, who at the time was arguably the sole custodian of this traditional craft: he was still creating historic ladderback chairs in the style of Ernest Gimson and Philip Clissett.
Can you say you two are his successors?: Even though there is no family link, we represent the sixth generation of this craft, whose designs, methods, techniques and secrets were passed directly from one generation to the next – and then on to us. We feel the connection to our predecessors through our craft.
Although your designs and processes are strictly traditional, do you experiment as well?: Our core business is definitely traditional designs which have been unaltered for decades, but we like to experiment as well. We just started designing and handcrafting our first tables but we don’t have much time because, thankfully, the core business keeps us extremely busy.
What is the added value of a handcrafted piece?: Handcrafting is like leaving your fingerprint on a creation: in the end you can perceive the amount of care taken during the whole process, the attention paid to every single piece of wood that no machinery can ensure.

Sam Cooper & Richard Platt are rising stars: they began their career in 2018