Bill Hadfield - Chairmaker

I have a strong desire to ensure people know the big difference between hand-made and reproduction furniture. Chairs made by machine may be perfectly satisfactory in their construction but they will match exactly the thousands of other chairs the machine has made. They will lack the individuality, character and aesthetically pleasing effect which the human eye and hand can put into a piece of furniture.

In my workshop I make genuine one hundred percent handmade chairs. Follow this link to find out more about my methods and the wood I use.

To quote from the founder of the Japan Folkcraft Movement Soetsu Yanagi:

"No machine can compare with a man's hands. Machinery gives speed, power, complete uniformity and precision, but it cannot give creativity, adaptability, freedom, heterogeneity. Man prefers the creative and the free to the fixed and standardized."

In my chairs, one man (me) makes every part with care. They are genuinely ‘Hand-Made’ and not merely advertised as such. As proof of authenticity each chair has my initials carved into it. I am most proud of 20 years chairmaking being my only source of income - not teaching or writing about chairmaking but earning a living from it.

My work has gone to many parts of the world and into the homes of titled and famous people such as film stars Anthony Andrews and Julie Walters. I have been invited to demonstrate my skills at some of our most prestigious shows, most notably The Royal Show and Art In Action.

The Japanese Connection: A few years ago The Osaka Folkcraft Museum requested me to make and send chairs for an exhibition of Folkcraft. This was to include pottery, textiles, silks, etc. from many different countries. Over a four year period I taught a Japanese youth the skills of making English Country Chairs.