Jack Bibbings & Matthew Hensby

Bibbings & Hensby

Furniture maker

©Lee & Edkins

©Bibbings & Hensby

The power of tradition

Jack and Matthew work predominantly with hand tools
Their production is imbued with warmth and individuality
They handcraft practical everyday pieces

Jack Bibbings and Matthew Hensby studied fine furniture making together before opening their own workshop in East London where they create contemporary handmade wooden furniture while developing designs that build on inherited vernacular traditions. It was a happy coincidence that they ended up studying together at the same time, both had experienced the same turning point when they realised that they wished to pursue careers that involved the fulfilment of making things with their hands. “The reason why we decided to set up our workshop,” they say, “is that we were interested in using traditional furniture making techniques, especially those focused on the use of hand tools, to make relevant contemporary designs.”

Interview

©Bibbings & Hensby

©Bibbings & Hensby

What binds your designs and your country?: All of our designs build on styles that are linked with local furniture traditions. We make our furniture in much the same way and spirit as the generations of craftsmen who have proceeded us and we consider our work to be a continuation of these inherited furniture making traditions.
Are your tools traditional too?: They are old-style traditional hand tools. Most of our cutting tools are crafted by a Swedish artisan who makes them in very small quantities, with an approach very similar to our own. So it’s nice to be using tools that have a connection to someone else’s hand.
Do you also work on commission?: The majority of our work is bespoke and the rest made-to-order. We often work with interior designers, architects and private clients to design work for specific briefs, while other times we make-to-order designs we’ve produced in the past; more often than not these are also customised.
How does sustainability link in with your work?: It’s fundamental to the way we work. All of our furniture is made exclusively from timber, which is mostly grown in the UK. For our chairs we select trees ourselves from small scale sustainably managed woodlands around London.

Jack Bibbings & Matthew Hensby are rising stars: they began their career in 2017