Workshop & Studio
Seating
Tables
Desks
Cabinets
Interiors
Garden Furniture
| Workshop & Studio |
Seating |
Tables |
Desks |
Cabinets |
Interiors |
Garden Furniture |
| ...whose craftsmanship is without question...a force to be reckoned with in the 21st century |
Betty Norbury, Furniture for the 21st Century |
| Philip
Koomen Philip Koomen established Philip Koomen Furniture in 1975 having studied Furniture Design & Technology and Wood Science at High Wycombe College (now Buckinghamshire University College), the leading centre for furniture design and craftsmanship education and research. A scholarship from the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers (1984) enabled him to tour model German and Dutch studio/workshops to consolidate his knowledge of studio practice. In 2007 he was awarded a PhD (Brunel University) for research undertaken into developing a sustainable practice. His Signed & Sealed range embodies the approach and was shown on a touring exhibition Out of the Woods (the iconic Pondlife bench is part of this collection). Philip is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and a Fellow of the Institute of Wood Science. Koomen is recognized by many sources as one of the leading furniture designer-makers in the UK: • "Out of the Woods has affirmed his status as one of the finest craftsmen in wood in Britain today." BBC Homes & Antiques, 2004 • Invited by HM Queen Elizabeth and HRH Prince Philip to the first Royal Celebration of British Design at Buckingham Palace (2004) in recognition of "excellence in the practice of design" Buckingham Palace, 2004 • "…whose craftsmanship is without question…a force to be reckoned with in the 21st century" Furniture for the 21st Century by Betty Norbury, 1999 |
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Steve Salt |
Chris Harris |
James Willis |
Annual workshop exhibition during Oxfordshire Artweeks
Furniture, models and designs from the 'design-to-make' process will be on view. The studio-workshop will be open to the public – an opportunity to gain insight into how fine furniture is made from locally sourced timber and American and European hard woods.
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The workshop and showroom during Oxfordshire Artweeks
We regularly take part in exhibitions and our commissions are on view at various venues:
Exhibitions and Galleries
~ Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design, Cheltenham ~ 15 - 24 August 2009
~ Henley Festival ~ 8 - 12 July 2009
~ Oxfordshire Artweeks ~ 16-17 and 24-25 May 2009
~ Barn Acre Galley ~ In The Pink Summer Show, 1-25 May 2009
~ Artifex Gallery Mitchell Centre, Sutton Coldfield ~ an impressive range of designer-made furniture
~ Craftmaker ~ an on-line gallery which is part of the main craft&design website
Public Collections
~ Museum of English Rural Life, Reading
~ Wycombe Chair Museum, High Wycombe
~ River Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames
~ Bourton House, Bourton-on-the-Water near Chipping Norton
~ Checkendon Church ~ Lectern in English oak with walnut inlay
~ Alms House Chapel, Goring Heath ~ Font in Oxfordshire oak and copper
~ St Mary’s Church, Henley-on-Thames ~ Mobile lectern
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Selected Exhibitions
• 21st Century Furniture: The Art & Crafts Legacy ~ The Millinery Works, London, 1 - 26 April 2009
• Going Green: sustainability past and present ~ The Museum of English Rural Life, University of Reading, 10 July – 28 October 2007
• Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design, Cheltenham, August 2008• Celebrating Art in the Garden, Urchfont Manor, Devizes, 2 - 9 September 2007
• Out of the Woods ~ (Philip Koomen Furniture), Touring Exhibition, Wycombe Museum, 22 July - 8 October 2006
• Out of the Woods ~ (Philip Koomen Furniture) Touring Exhibition, River Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames, 17 September 2004 - 7 January 2005
• Out of the Woods ~ (Philip Koomen Furniture) Touring Exhibition, Art in Action, Waterperry House, July 2005
• The Art of Furniture, Gas Hall, Birmingham City Museum, 28 February – 4 March 2004
• Classic IX, Belgium, 1 – 9 November 2003
• Centre of Contemporary Furniture, Cheltenham, February – August 2003
• Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Oxfordshire Artweeks, 10 May – 1 June 2003
• Designs on Environment, Banqueting House, Whitehall Palace, London, 1999
• International exhibitions in USA, UAE, Italy and France
TopPublications
• A Sustainable Approach to Furniture Design, The Designer, Chartered Society of Designers, Issue 21, 2004
• Out of the Woods ~ Philip Koomen: a Sustainable Approach to Furniture Design (Exhibition Catalogue, 2004)
• Techniques to Add Aesthetic Value to Beech in Product Design, Transnational Woodland Industries Group, 2002Books
• Bespoke, Betty Norbury, Stobart Davies Ltd, 2007
• Furniture for the 21st Century, Betty Norbury, Stobart Davies Ltd, 1999
• The Encyclopaedia of Woodworking Technique, Jeremy Broun, Headline, 1994
• British Craftsmanship in Wood, Betty Norbury, Stobart Davies Ltd, 1990Selected Editorial Features
• Go Green, Furniture Journal, May 2005
• People with Passion, BBC Home and Antiques, February 2005
• Wood, Homes and Gardens, November 2003
• Pondlife Bench Photograph, Homes and Gardens, August 2003
• Pondlife Bench Photograph, Crafts, May/June 2003
• Maker to the Stars, Furniture and Cabinetmaking, October 2002
• The Koomen Trio, Furniture Manufacturer, June 2002
• The Wood for the Trees, Limited Edition, May 2002
• 21st Century Schizoid Man, The Independent, 8 January 2000
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Contact: Webpage by Esmyr Koomen |
