About me

Hi, I am Rob Hardie and my passion is making chairs. This is not something I have always done. But I have been a woodworker for many years. I started wood turning as a hobby when I was in my twenties. This expanded to broader wood working and I completed a 2 year evening class in cabinet making. This was alongside my career in the NHS. I visited the European woodworking show in 2015 and saw the beautiful Windsor chairs made by James Mursell on display there. I was fascinated by them and could not believe how comfortable they were. Having sat in many Windsor chairs in pubs and restaurants, as well as having a set at home that I didn’t find pleasant to sit in, these were something completely different and they looked amazing as well. I eventually booked myself onto a course with James in 2017 and spent a week making my first chair. The process was challenging but I thoroughly enjoyed it and was hooked. I came away from the course fired up with a determination to learn more about chairmaking and make more. I also decided that I wanted to spend all my time making chairs and so gave my notice in at work. My initial goal was to replace the set of chairs I had around my dining room table. I attended another course with James in 2018 to make a rocking chair. Whilst I was working my notice at work I took some time off to build a new workshop at the bottom of my garden. My previous workshop was just too small to be able to work efficiently in. The new workshop was set up with the goal of chairmaking and so was designed with this in mind. I now have a lovely workshop that is a joy to work in and is conveniently only 30 metres from my back door.

Chairmaking is something that has really taken over my life. The process of making chairs  has many facets from design through to manufacture and finishing. The end result is functional but at the same time beautiful. The measure of a good chair is that it looks good from every angle, as well as being comfortable to sit in. There are many variations of windsor style chairs from around the UK as well as other countries. There are also other styles of chairs that are made in a similar fashion, such as the Welsh stick chairs. I have been fascinated with these and the work of John Brown, who did much to revive interest in welsh stick chairs. This renewed interest in stick chairs has now gone around the world. These chairs are a well balanced mix of old style that sits well within a modern setting.

I have also recently started woodcarving again. I attended a course with Peter Benson at the Essex School of Woodcarving in 2019. Although this was just for a day, it reignited my interest  in carving and since then I have carved regularly and really enjoy the process.

I am married with 2 sons who are yet to leave home, but I’m working on that one. I have 2 beagles and so enjoy walking them through the local Essex countryside and along the coastal paths. As well as woodworking, I like to grow some of my own food so have an allotment. I also enjoy photography and previously undertook City & Guilds qualifications that lead to Licenciate of the Royal Photographic Society.