Magdalen College, Oxford

In 1971 the workshop made a set of fifty-two chairs for the college’s common room. It is a testament to the quality of the original chairs that after more than forty years they are still in regular use. In 2014 we were asked to replace the chairs in the college dining room. Designer James Ryan adapted his Grace chair design to suit the college’s requirements. Firstly, the new chairs had to be able to withstand the frequent use they would receive from the students. Secondly, because the chair would be made in, for us, large numbers the construction of the chair had to suit being made in batches.