I have been building hardwood furniture in Edinburgh since the early seventies and since 1980 my workshop has been at Gogar Church on the western edge of the city. It is readily found now as it sits adjacent to the Royal Bank of Scotland flyover at Gogarburn and is the only building left standing on the N. side of the Glasgow Road in that vicinity. It is currently enisled amongst what are laughingly refered to as the "Ediburgh tramline workings". The most cogent critique of that particular exercise can be found on YOUTUBE under the title "Edinburgh tramline Fiasco". I could go on.....but probably better to keep on track. So. I work mostly in native (and often very local) hardwoods and in practice this means oak, elm, ash, beech, cherry and yew though the availability of quality material at any time might entail venturing further afield into, for example, European oak or N. American walnut. So much for the materialistic. By way of a half-baked anecdote, let me try to say something about my approach to the work. Explaining to a precocious 8 year old that I was a designer-maker (of furniture), I was told that, well, yes, it would necessarily have to be that way round because obviously you cant make something until after you've designed it. That seemed reasonable so I felt bound to agree..... except that...... trouble is, I suspect that for me it is the making (and the materials, the machines, the tools, the workshop) that is really important and is what allows me to acheive any result. This they do by controlling and informing any design. I therefore decided to invert the two terms and prefer to call myself a maker-designer. However, at the end of the day, all that really matters is the finished article. So, judge for yourself . In other words, LOOK AT THE WORK (or, here and in the first instance, at the pictures); all the rest, (as Albert Finney says in "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning"), is propaganda.

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Contact Details

1. Chris Holmes
2. Gogar Cabinetworks
   Gogar Old Church
   194 Glasgow Road
3. Edinburgh
4. none
5. Edinburgh
6. EH12 9BR
7.  
8. Tel: 01313177240
9. Mob: 07881588610
10. Email: info@chrisholmes.co.uk
11. Web: www.chrisholmesfurniture.com