An interview with Smallholdings Magazine
There’s something instantly appealing about green furniture making – the finished object shouts loudly of the material it is made from, it has not been seasoned or worked to within an inch of its life. There is a rawness about it and the natural form of the timber is celebrated and not hidden. This can appeal enormously to smallholders who have access to wood in coppices, hedges and patches of woodland; what could be nicer than making your own stool, chair or table from timber growing on your land?
Peter Lanyon lives and works in South Devon “I am very lucky to have a big and beautiful workshop a stone's throw from the sea in an old converted cow shed. I grew up on the outskirts of Plymouth, and Mothecombe beach near the workshop is where we used to go as a family.”
“I got my mid-life crisis out of the way early, deciding to throw in my rather haphazard career and train as a furniture maker at Rycotewood College, which was at the time considered one of the top places to learn fine furniture making in the country. I have always loved making things, but Rycotewood made incredible demands on us all to be flawless in our execution. My interest in design came later, after I had learned to make, and I went on to gain an MA with distinction from High Wycombe College.
“Myself and colleague Javed Mir took on our workshop, the Devon Green Wood Centre, a couple of years ago. It has a secluded, spacious feel and is ideal for making the work and for welcoming people on courses. It is a short walk from the coast path with breath-taking views, so lunch times are often spent enjoying all that is best in Devon. The centre offers something of the seclusion and peace of working in a woodland, but with the advantages that powered tools and machines offer.
I asked Peter if he grows his own timber: “I would dearly love to own woodland, but that is something for the future. I am always looking for new suppliers of good quality coppice wood – in particular ash, cherry, and my particular favourite, sweet chestnut. As well as buying in air dried boards and some coppice woods from small woodland owners, we sometimes mill our own wood, often from trees donated by a landowner who would like to see it put to good use.
What is green wood?
So what exactly is green wood? “Green wood simply means unseasoned. We usually work with young trees of around 30 years old, or 6” - 9” diameter. Oak is the exception – it needs to be at least 18” in diameter before there is any significant amount of heartwood, the sapwood being very susceptible to boring insects. The advantages of green wood are that it can be cleaved and shaved, instead of being put through a saw. I feel that straight edges and right angles are over-rated; trees grow in beautiful undulating, organic shapes which tell their history so why cut them into flat, straight, lifeless edges and surfaces? The process of converting trees into furniture components needn't be noisy or dusty – it can be physically and emotionally satisfying, and be carried out virtually anywhere. Wood that is cleaved is inherently stronger than sawn wood, meaning components can be made lighter.
The furniture
“The starting point for my work is always the material. Some chestnut poles with a gentle reciprocating curve call out to be shaved into lamps, other times I will start with one idea, say a chair leg, and find at the end of the day I have made spindles, or it has even become a table lamp. The wood tells you what it wants to be. That is one of the joys of green woodworking – you never impose a design on green wood, it tells you how it’s going to be by how it cleaves and works. As well as a range of cleft-wood lamps and furniture, I explore the possibilities of steam-bending, which can be done most successfully while the timber is still green. The real challenge and love is in working out how to make a new piece, using bits of wood that are not straight and are going to shrink is a very interesting design constraint to work within, which demands all kinds of ingenuity. Having said that, I still look forward with immense satisfaction to a day spent on the shave horse, shaping standard lamps”. Peter does take commissions: “the commissioning process is an interesting one, working with such unpredictability means it is impossible to present someone with a finished drawing of what their piece will look like. We overcome that through close dialogue and using photography to keep people informed about what we are proposing, and a relationship of trust develops.
Community woodworking
“I have been involved in quite a number of community projects, often for benches for a community orchard, or seating or a table for a school. I give demonstrations at local fairs, where people are invited to have a go at making a spatula or a butter knife. This is often enough to get people hooked, and getting volunteers for a project is never difficult; cleaving and shaving wood is such a pleasurable and enjoyable experience. I usually start with a construction idea, one that lends itself to a number of people making individual components. These are then usually seasoned for a while, before the group comes together again to assemble them into the final piece. I use a lot of jigs and work aids to assist people who may not have previous experience, to ensure that joints are tight and accurate, and one of the wonderful things about green woodworking is that everybody can achieve good results very quickly.
Working sustainably
“My work is pretty much unique – my approach is not one of nostalgia for a past way of doing things, but in re-imagining how this wonderful material and technique can be made even more relevant in today's world. It always amuses me that the bodgers of the past were operating out of the same needs as we have now; using local, sustainable and renewable resources, reducing energy consumption and transportation costs. These are all incredibly important factors in how we produce artefacts today. It seems to me that no piece of furniture can really be called “contemporary” if it doesn't address these very real issues. We've just taken a long time to remember that it makes sense to work in this way, and we need people who will manage our woodlands now, for the benefit of future generations.
Green wood courses
Peter runs green furniture making courses and “people nearly always surprise themselves with what they can make in a weekend. I run a popular two-day introduction to green wood furniture making and a more advanced 9-day table course. As well as the tool skills, all my courses have a strong emphasis on design, and every piece of furniture made expresses something of the individual who made it. Unusually, there is the option at my workshop to use power tools, and machinery like the pillar drill and bandsaw. You can either choose to be purist and do it all by hand, or push boundaries a bit by enlisting the help of power tools. Last year a couple on my table course made a fabulous seven foot dining table. This wouldn't have been possible without the powered facilities of the Devon Green Wood Centre. One of my favourite courses is the six day chair course – it is immensely satisfying to make your own chair, and I don't believe in terms of design that the traditional country chair has ever been bettered for economy of materials, looks and comfort. I also run a Creative Seating Course which is a chance to really explore the possibilities of working with wiggly wood in what is referred to as “free-form” woodworking.
