Philip Koomen Furniture ~ Profile, News & Exhibitions



Workshop & Studio

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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 this 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.

philip sketching and model making as part of the design process

The OneOak Project

Philip Koomen is collaborating on the OneOak project, an exciting initiative that aims to re-connect people with growing trees for wood and showcasing the story of a 160 year old oak tree from the Blenheim Palace estate.

This project, coordinated by Dr Gabriel Hemery from the Sylva Foundation will unfold over the next two years. The tree was ceremoniously felled on 20 January to the applause of over 400 school children, artists, crafts people and scientists involved with the project. On 26 February Philip supervised the conversion into planks at Great Park near Abingdon where James Binning from Deep in Wood operates the saw mill.

Over the years Philip has pioneered the development of a local cycle which integrates the different stages involved in producing craftsman-made furniture, from sourcing timber from local woodlands to the creative process of designing and making furniture.

 

philip sketching and model making as part of the design process
Sarah Simblet's pen and ink drawing of the OneOak tree at Blenheim Palace.

Annual workshop exhibition during Oxfordshire Artweeks
Showroom during Oxfordshire Artweeks
Showroom and workshop during Oxfordshire Artweeks
Showroom and workshop during Oxfordshire Artweeks
During our annual Artweeks exhibition we  feature new designs and work in progress and enable visitors to tour the workshop, showroom and timber yard. This year's theme was Forest to Furniture (15-16 / 22-23 May) and featured talks and demonstrations such as
~ The Story of OneOak: Reconnecting people with growing trees for wood with Dr Gabriel Hemery of the Sylva Foundation
~ Forest to Furniture: Designing and making bespoke furniture using trees from local woodlands with Philip Koomen
~ The State and Future of Oxfordshire Woodlands with David Rees, Oxfordshire Woodland Project
~ Painting the OneOak with Rebecca Hind, Watercolour Artist in Residence to the OneOak project

We regularly take part in exhibitions and our commissions are on view at various venues:

Exhibitions and Galleries

~ Craftmaker, An on-line gallery which is part of the main Craft&Design website

~ Oxfordshire Artweeks, 15 -16 & 22 - 23 May 2010

~ 21st Century Furniture II: The Arts & Crafts Legacy, London ~ 28 March - 25 April 2010

~ Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design, Cheltenham ~ 15 - 24 August 2009

~ Henley Festival, 8 -12 July 2009

~ Barn Acre Gallery ~ In The Pink Summer Show, Wargrave ~ 1-25 May 2009

Public Collections

~ The Guardian Hay Festival, Hay-on-Wye

~ Museum of English Rural Life, Reading

~ Wycombe Chair Museum, High Wycombe

~ River Rowing Museum, Henley-on-Thames

~ 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

ponlife benches made in sweet chestnut and cedatr of Lebanon exhibited at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford
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Selected Exhibitions

• 21st Century Craftsmen ~ The Millinery Works, London, March - April 2010

• 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

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
• From Forest to Furniture: Philip Koomen Inspired by Sustainability, Hardwood Matters, October 2009

• Making a Splash, Furniture Journal, September 2009

• Made to Measure, Oxfordshire Review, August 2009

• From Forest to Furniture, Woodland Heritage, 2009

• Editor’s Choice, Oxfordshire Review, February 2009

• Forestry Commissions, idfx, October 2008

• The Creative Spirit ~ Philip Koomen Profile, Good Woodworking, September 2008

• Philip Koomen Hay Festival Furniture, NoiThat, (Vietnam), August 2008

• Philip Koomen, NoiThat, (Vietnam), November 2006

• 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:
Philip Koomen . Wheelers Barn . Checkendon . South Oxfordshire . RG8 0NJ
Phone 01491 681122
Email Philip Koomen Furniture

Webpage by Esmyr Koomen
Last Updated 9 June 2010