Welsh High-back Stick Chair Silent Auction
Help us support another trainee at the Botanic Gardens
About this Fundraiser
As a result of ongoing successful fundraising, much of it from plant sales, we are able to help fund another trainee. The previous trainee, Breanna Hill, who received funding for her 3-year training from the Friends of the Botanic gardens and a generous bequest of Helen Irvine, has completed her apprenticeship and is now working in the Conservatories. The Friends feel that helping to sponsor another trainee is one of the most effective ways of supporting the Gardens. If you know anyone who would like to contribute to this fund, we would love to hear from them.
As a kick start to this fundraising, we have generously been given a beautiful handmade High-back Welsh stick chair made by David Laird Chairbler.
David tells us this about his chair:
This chair is my interpretation of a High-back Welsh stick chair which is one of the earliest forms of Windsor chairs. Stick chairs are designed to outlast us all and are a permanent reflection of the land it came from. The chairs take their shapes from humble and local raw materials making each chair unique.
I have constructed this chair using traditional chair construction techniques which date back over 200 years. This form of making has a very small footprint on the planet and utilises end of life timber to sequester carbon, while also giving the tree a second life. Finding green and sustainable ways of producing items that will last is central to every item I make.
This chair is a unique mixed species example which is constructed from wind fallen branches and end of life trees from Hagley Park. The legs and steam bent arm bow have been hand shaped from a large branch that fell from a European White Ash tree that is still standing at the gate to Hagley Oval. White Ash is a traditional chair making timber for legs due to its strength and is one of the better timbers for steam bending.
The spindles on the back rest are made from an end-of-life European Beech tree from along Riccarton Ave, and wind thrown branches from London Plane, Oak, Ash and Elm. The comb is steam bent from fallen Oak from the South Hagley side of Riccarton Ave. The seat is shaped from Elm which is a traditional chair making timber for Windsor chairs as it has a tendency not to split. The split and wedged mortice and tenon joints are wedged with English Walnut. This chair has been made with a back angle of 16 degrees to be used as a sitting or reading chair. It has been a privilege to work this timber and I hope it finds a new home to add to its story.
David Laird www.davidlairdchairbler.co.nz