furniture school
robinson house studio Furniture School’s New Premises.
We are absolutely delighted to have been able to secure new premises, still in central Newhaven with it’s great transport connections, in an amazing new building with eco-credentials and only a few minutes walk to the beach!
The new premises is 8,000 square feet and will provide new and improved facilities not only for our students but also our community of makers.
James Dabell studied with us for a year and created some great pieces during his course. Since graduating, he has gone on to work at bespoke furniture maker Silverlining, which we take students to visit on their course. We caught
Marc appeared in the Financial Times on September 20th 2019. The piece covered his design ethos and ambitions prior to showing with Todd Merrill at PAD London.
In the Newhaven studio of furniture-maker Marc Fish, Claudia Barbieri discovers how the designer bends wood to his will.
Daniela joined us for a one week intro course to try her hand at woodworking. Here she shares her experience!
Out of all the pieces that received a Bespoke Guild Mark, the Claxton Stevens Prize is awarded to the best recipient from that year, recognising excellence in design, materials, craftsmanship and function for exquisite pieces of furniture.
There are so many directions students can go in once they finish studying with us, so we thought we would start highlighting a few of our alumni students and share with you what they’ve been up to since graduating. Laurent
Occasional table, Indian inked sycamore and hammered brass
Josh Milton joined us after graduating with a 1st degree in 3D design. Our course was a great way to apply what he’d learned to furniture making and expand on his knowledge and making skills. We are delighted to say Josh has won employment at Benchmark.
Turntable console, American black walnut and aluminium “After researching a number of schools and facilities there was only one that appeared to offer the contemporary design focus, mixed materials and disciplines I needed to achieve my design and making ambitions.
Hi-Fi stand, walnut When I first started thinking about joining the school I really just hoped that I would be able to improve my woeful woodwork skills. I signed up for the week long taster course to work out whether
So you’ve decided you want to be a furniture maker – spending your days in a workshop, coming up with great designs, building beautiful yet functional pieces from scratch. But where do you start? There’s a lot to consider, especially
Recent graduate James Dabell tells us all about his time at robinson house studio, what he got from the course, and what he enjoyed most.
School Founder and Principal Marc Fish has been featured in a recent issue of Modern Luxury magazine, after showing at the Design Miami exhibition. Marc Fish is represented in the US by gallery owner Todd Merrill, who showed Marc’s Ethereal
Rosewood desk I started the one year furniture making course directly after finishing my levels. Having had no experience in woodworking, I was somewhat overwhelmed at first. It didn’t take long, however, for me to settle in and realise I
Marc Fish’s new piece, the Ethereal desk, was featured at the recent Design Miami exhibition, which ran from 4th-9th December 2018. Marc was pleased to be involved in the Todd Merrill Studio exhibition alongside artists such as Brecht Wright Gander,
Theo Cook, robinson house studio’s Vice Principal and Senior Tutor, has finished uploading his three-part series on how he made his bronze scraper plane. He enjoys making his own hand tools and has made many in the past, but making
The studio and the furniture school have been proud to have a heavy involvement with the Evolution of Tradition Exhibition at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour. The exhibition was in collaboration with the Furniture Makers’ Company, as the show exclusively exhibited
The Furniture Makers Company, along with Cube Video, have created this fantastic video about our work at the studio, how we strive to create new knowledge, and the value of a Bespoke Guild Mark award. We are showing Marc’s new desk,
We recently welcomed 5 new students to our school for our September intake. They’re a great group of people from a range of different backgrounds, who all have different reasons for joining us at the school, and it goes to
Every year, robinson house studio brings our fantastic graduates to exhibit at New Designers, the annual graduate design exhibition held in London. We think this is a fantastic opportunity for students to participate in what may be their first exhibition,
Todd Merrill’s beautiful home was featured in a recent issue of Architectural Digest, showcasing some beautiful pieces from the designers he exhibits in his New York gallery, including three of Marc Fish’s pieces. The foyer features a chair from
Sika console table in rippled sycamore, Australian oak, and carbon fibre I did a design degree ages ago, and decided when I finished that degree that maybe it wasn’t quite what I wanted to get into, it was really competitive.
Theo Cook is one of the only people in the world capable of creating this fantastic Japanese Sunrise Dovetail joint. He runs dovetail courses here at robinson house studio, so you can learn to make dovetails from one of the
How did you get into furniture making? By chance, I used to restore classic cars and got into welding and metal fabrication. I started making sculptures and furniture in metal. I had some early success but when this dried up
If you’re thinking about taking a course in furniture design and furniture making, it’s a good idea to take into account the location of the school. It’s such an important factor, since you’ll be living there for a considerable amount of time (we’ve already written about how great it is to be so close to Brighton), but also because it dictates what kind of extra-curricular things you can do.
How did you get into furniture making? Straight after I had finished my last exam at school I saw an advert for a furniture assembler and thought I would apply. I got the job and started straight away. The job
Box with herringbone pattern in wenge As a joiner with a background in design, I have always loved to make things, having an idea and bringing it to life, often then deciding that I could have made it slightly better
Blackened ash and bleached walnut low table After discovering a passion for woodwork I made the terrifying decision to pursue quite a dramatic career change. I visited several training providers but within a few minutes of being at RHS I
Side/hall table in walnut, anigre, ebony I started my 50 week course after nearly four decades working in I.T. I have always liked making things and a furniture creation course seemed like the ideal way to improve my skills and
Desk Zebrano and rosewood Coming from a business background I was a complete newcomer to woodworking and cabinet-making. Enrolling on Marc Fish’s training program was a bit of a leap in the dark mainly inspired by my wish to create
Side table in walnut, bronze and bog oak I wanted to take the chance to say that it’s been a steep learning curve that I took, and I questioned it constantly. I truly can say that without the style of
Chest of drawers in fumed oak and red Corian I came to furniture making later in life than most fellow students on my course. Having left a career in political research I signed up for the fifty week designer maker
Ex-student Fabio Guselli lets us know all about why he chose to study with us, what he thought of the course, and shares his experience of studying here.
Desk in walnut, paint, and steel I had been working in construction for almost ten years when I decided to steer towards furniture. After having done that for a few years, I reached a plateau. I did not develop my
Columbus cigar humidor in rosewood, ebony, glass, Spanish cedar, and pau Amarillo My year course at Robinson House Studio has been a very valuable experience thanks to the high quality learning environment that Marc Fish offers to his students, Marc
Bedside cabinet – one of a pair in rippled sycamore Having worked in Software Engineering for a lifetime, I wanted to develop practical skills with tangible results and hopefully make something I could be proud of. The course has provided
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
Spider table in walnut & glass I completed a short course with Marc with a specific aim of defining how to turn a long standing idea into reality. However what I came away with was much more than I ever
Sputnik1 Stool, 4000 year old bog oak I had completed one year of furniture design and maker’s diploma at Robinson House Studio (Marc Fish) at Brighton. Prior to embarking on the course, my background experience and academics was in architecture.
Desk in ebonised oak, copper, and leather Chris joined us after doing degree in product design. He was looking to get practical experience in the actual making of furniture. Chris has now started his own cabinet making business and started
Walnut bench After 10 years building scenery for theatre I decided to change careers and attended the 12 week fine furniture making course with Marc.
Record turntable cabinet in walnut and birch I joined ‘robinson house studio’ on the fifty-week course with a real desire to get hands-on making experience and to build-up a portfolio of projects that would take me onto the next step
During my time at Robinson house studio I learnt how to combine traditional making techniques with modern design.
Pair of boxes I was working at a luxury yacht building company when I decided I wanted to develop my hand skills, and after musing over a few different 12 week courses, I decided that Marc’s looked the most comprehensive.
Low table, oak and concrete I worked for many years in Theatre production, as a scenic artist. It was a very varied and interesting job in which I learnt a lot about design and construction and developed a keen interest
Credenza pear and fumed oak Spending a year at Robinson House Studio instilled a confidence in my ability as a craftsman. I chose to come do a course instead of taking a more conventional approach to higher education like University.
Red acrylic and wenge cabinet When Chris came to us after 20 years of making furniture, he wanted to create the kind of furniture he had dreamed of. After a 40 week course Chris has set up his own business
Mobius light Having spent the last 30+ years working as an architect, I was keen to branch out into both designing and making things. I looked around for a suitable course and Marc Fish’s studio at robinson house was the
Tim Evershed was recently featured as ‘One to Watch’ in a Homes and Garden magazine article during October 2017.