The Marchmont Workshop talk chair making, rush seating & the early years

The Marchmont Workshop's Rich Platt & Sam Cooper are celebrated as the saviours of the rush-seated chair. A centuries-old art, the craft of rush seating was by the late 20th century in steady decline. Rich & Sam's journey in rush-seated chair making began in 2018 when they became apprentices to Lawrence Neal, one of the last remaining rush seaters in the UK.

In 2020 thanks to an invitation from the philanthropist, Hugo Burge, they opened their own workshop in a former Robert Lorimer-designed garage on Hugo's Marchmont estate in the Scottish Borders. Eight years on, they recently took on their own apprentice, Isaac Uden. 

Following in the footsteps of the great Arts and Craft furniture makers, Philip Clissett and Ernest Gimson, Rich and Sam craft both time-honoured classics and explore and create new designs. As to the rushes, annually, the decidedly hands-on Rich and Sam, don their waders and head south to cut rushes from a Warwickshire river. On returning to Scotland, they dry the rush which is then woven into seats of chairs predominately made from locally felled ash and oak. And their order book is packed.

The Marchmont Workshop are currently exhibiting in Ash Rise, a touring exhibition celebrating the ash tree presented by the Scottish Furniture Makers Association.

https://themarchmontworkshop.com/
https://www.hugoburgefoundation.org/

Design Exhibition Scotland was founded by Susanna Beaumont in 2018 to celebrate and champion making and creating through podcasts, exhibitions, conversations and commissions. https://www.designexhibitionscotland.co.uk/

Production
Ryan Scott
https://www.ryanscottfilm.com/

Music
Malin
https://www.instagram.com/malinlewismusic/