Sitting Firm at Gaze Burvill is committed to creating the finest British Windsor Chairs through an honest commitment to design integrity, comfort and craftsmanship. Our tables meet the same high standard, using the same processes and fine materials. We use only sustainably sourced, fine quality timber, to make pieces that will stand the test of time, and bring joy to their owners for years to come.
Working in our Hampshire workshop, we oversee every part of the process, from managing seasoned wood boards arriving from local sustainably managed woodlands, the complex shaping of the chair’s solid wood seat base, wood turning and steam-bending, to hand-finishing the seats. Much of the wood used comes from within a mile or so of the workshop.
Sitting Firm Chairmakers Ltd was set up by master-craftsman Dave Green in 1989 to manufacture chairs which followed in the best British furniture craft traditions, and the company soon gained an international reputation for producing fine quality traditional Windsor Chairs. As word spread, Sitting Firm became the go-to centre of expertise for British designers who wanted to get their own chair concepts into production.
In February 2020 the manufacturing of Sitting Firm’s chairs was taken over by Gaze Burvill at their workshop in Hampshire. Over the decades, Gaze Burvill has honed a unique expertise in outdoor furniture making, melding the traditional skills of its craftspeople with the very best of modern production technology. This was the perfect progression for Sitting Firm, as Dave Green sought to gradually step down from running the business, and pass on his expertise and know-how to the next generation of chairmakers.
Today, a growing collection of Sitting Firm Windsor Chair designs is being made by a dedicated team of skilled craftspeople under the new name of Sitting Firm at Gaze Burvill.
Our passion for design and sustainability are part of the core values which are embedded throughout Sitting Firm at Gaze Burvill. Using only certified and sustainably sourced timber from British woodlands, we believe in combining the best in traditional craftsmanship and the modern technology to produce Windsor Chairs which are comfortable, beautiful, and, importantly, made to last.
We take great care to source fine temperate hardwoods from sustainably managed British woodlands. Working in solid wood gives each chair its unique tactile and characterful authenticity, however this requires a deep understanding of the raw material, its grain, and the suitability of its different cuts – knowledge only gained though 30 years of experience in working with wood. Steam-bending is just one example of the many processes which require specialised skill and a trained eye. In expert hands, however, it will yield graceful and strong curved elements, and a chair which is both comfortable and pleasing to the eye.
Good design and true originality are at the heart of everything we strive to achieve. While certain Windsor Chairs serve a purpose which is sculptural as well as practical, we believe the best chairs stand strong, look great and support the sitter comfortably.
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