About us

The Chairmaker brand is manufactured totally in the UK.

1/ We work with the best designers in the world to perfect and then manufacture their exclusive designs.

2/ We work at the top end of the commercial and hospitality sector.  Normally working with designers but sometimes directly with the venue owner. We have in the last few years produced amazing custom chairs, sofas, stools and fitted furniture for some of the worlds finest venues, including restaurants, hotels, bars and the marine industry.

3/ We manufacture and retail our own Chairmaker chairs and sofas which are sold to trade and private clients.

The ‘Vault’ is the jewel in the crown of our business and we believe nothing like it exists anywhere else. While it’s not actually a vault, it is an incredible archive that contains thousands of full-scale chair drawings and patterns from many periods in history. This collection has been put together over many years and could well be the largest collection in the world.

We are continually releasing new chair designs into the Chairmaker collection from designs we find in the vault. It can be a real challenge when we find a chair we want to bring back to life. Many of the old patterns have no corresponding drawings like they do today, or there may be patterns missing. First of all our in-house design team will modernize the design, digitize it and convert it to metric. We then make drawings from the patterns to make sure it will go together, redrawing any missing parts. We will then make a prototype, evaluate the design and tweak it as necessary. Only when we are happy will it be added to the Chairmaker collection.

We also design new models, hundreds every year.  We get our inspiration from what’s going on in the world today, at the moment the fashion is for Mid Century designs.  We also design and produce chairs for our trade customers and while we can’t tell you who they are, we produce some of the most iconic chairs made in the UK at our Sussex factories.

Manufacturing in the UK gives us control of every stage of manufacture.  Our frame timbers are from approved mills that comply with FSC or PEFC rules. Our upholstery internals meet the highest crib 5 fire regulations as standard. We guarantee all our products, for further information see our Terms and Conditions.

We have workshops in Sussex with many facilities including classic machinery and the latest in CNC. We recycle our waste which is used to heat the building. We carry a massive selection of timbers including Beech, Oak and Walnut. Our polishing shop is a state of the art controlled environment where all kinds of polishing and paint techniques are used. Our upholstery team are trained in all aspects of modern and traditional upholstery. We can handle modern dining chairs or a totally traditional chesterfield armchair with coil springs and horsehair. If you prefer natural materials we also now offer a build that uses only natural fillings like coir and wool.  For our commercial customers, we have developed a special upholstery build technique that we believe will outlast any other in a tough environment. This is why our chairs are found in the best restaurants in the world.

Our colleagues are skilled in the following:

• Design and prototyping
• CAD and CNC programming
• Pattern and jig making
• Chair frame making
• Woodturning and carving
• Polishing and painting
• Upholstery
• Restoration
• Marine, Leisure vehicle, Race and Horse truck interiors.

WARNING

All our Chairmaker products are made right here in Britain, they are like no other. While many of our shapes have been copied by the ‘chair pirates’ as we like to call them, they are not the same. Even if you don’t buy from us please be careful of what you are buying. The market is flooded with internet chairs, copied from classics and then made without any soul. These cheap chairs are just appalling with frames made of sticks and no proper internals. Similar in appearance only, they should be avoided at all costs.

Jobs

Within our group, we employ many staff and also work with many specialist makers.  If you have a skill that could match any of the areas listed and you would like to work with us please get in touch.  While we may not be recruiting at that precise moment we always like to hear from anyone that would like to join us.  We will always respond and keep your details on file, so we can get in touch should a position become available.