Philip Koomen Furniture ~ Profiles

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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. Philip is a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. 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

Steve Salt	Chris Harris	James Willis
	Chris demonstrating spoke shaving at Art in Action
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Over the years we have regularly taken part in other exhibitions and have demonstrated at various venues:

Selected Exhibitions
• Barn Acre Gallery ~ Wargrave, 7 - 10 December 2007

• 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 2007

• 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

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Publications
• 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, 2002

Books
• 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, 1990

Selected 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

Contact: Philip Koomen . Wheelers Barn . Checkendon . South Oxfordshire . RG8 0NJ Phone 01491 68112 Email Philip Koomen Furniture Webpage by Esmyr van Hees Last Updated 7 January 2008

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