Coffee table in imbuia, bronze, rippled sycamore
For me personally, conceiving and making furniture is about so much more than being a wood worker. I’ve always had a strong appreciation for design and after an informal chat with Marc, it was clear that his course was far more design centric and forward thinking than the other options I had encountered.
During the year I learned countless new skills and processes, including several of the groundbreaking techniques Marc has developed whilst working on his professional projects. There is a strong focus on modern and mixed materials at ‘robinson house studio’ and for my first project I was able to utilise aluminum honeycomb, an aerospace material, within components of a jewellery box. I then followed this with a Bauhaus inspired coffee table design, which included supporting sections milled out of solid pieces of bronze.
Tradition is not ignored either, with the first few months being devoted to fine hand skills, finishing techniques, timber selection and design techniques. This is interwoven with regular lectures on important makers and subjects such as 3D CAD design and CNC milling.
As someone who hopes to have a future career in furniture design, I feel like Marc’s tuition has left me in good standing to either obtain employment or to start my own business. Perhaps more importantly though, it was a thoroughly enjoyable twelve months and a truly life changing experience.
