LowfatRoubo

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Like making, I’ve never really managed to kick the writing habit. Not that I’d want to.So after months - who am I kiddin...
13/06/2026

Like making, I’ve never really managed to kick the writing habit. Not that I’d want to.

So after months - who am I kidding, years - of procrastination, diversions and false starts, I’ve finally launched a new project on Substack: The Furniture Reader.

It’s free to subscribe and gives me a place to explore ideas about furniture, craftsmanship and material culture in a little more depth than the fast-moving world of Instagram tends to allow.

The first Note and Post are now live, including an essay called Before There Was Furniture.
If you’d like to follow along, there’s a link in my bio.

I’m not entirely sure where this little adventure will lead, but that’s part of the appeal FurnitureReader

06/06/2026

After a week of cricket tables, a few people have asked which one is my favourite.
The honest answer is that I try not to think about it too much. Furniture makers are supposed to sell things, not adopt them.

What I do think about is ownership. Or perhaps more accurately, the illusion of ownership.

Most of the old furniture I admire has already outlived several owners. Some pieces have survived wars, house moves, changing fashions and the occasional enthusiastic amateur repair. Long after the makers and owners disappeared, the furniture simply carried on.

When you buy a handmade piece, you’re not really buying ownership in the absolute sense. You’re buying custodianship. You get to look after it for a while, use it, enjoy it, spill tea on it, tell visitors where it came from and perhaps kick the feet a few times as generations before you have done.
Then one day it moves on to someone else.

With any luck, these tables will still be doing their job long after both maker and current custodian have shuffled off this mortal coil.
Of course, there is another option. You could do what I did and make your own. There happens to be a book I can recommend that might help.

Or, if you’d prefer to fast-track the experience, I’ll be teaching cricket table making in August and in October.

Al this is a slightly roundabout way of saying that a few cricket tables are looking for their next custodian.
If you’d like to apply for the position, send me a message.

Today’s table is one you might have seen before - it’s the one featured on the cover of Cricket Tables. or will be hap...
05/06/2026

Today’s table is one you might have seen before - it’s the one featured on the cover of Cricket Tables. or will be happy to supply you with a copy.

Furniture names are curious things. Many were coined by antique dealers, auction houses and collectors to help describe and market objects. There’s nothing wrong with that, but over time these labels can take on an air of historical certainty that they don’t always deserve. Take the term “cricket table” for example - it has nothing whatsoever to do with the game of cricket.

This style of table is sometimes referred to as a “tavern table”, though I’m not entirely sure for whose benefit. Perhaps it conjures up images of ye olde England and flagons of ale. The truth is these tables were probably more likely to be found in coffee houses than public houses, but that’s not nearly as romantic.

This particular table is based on a period piece that I never actually got to see in person. It was probably the fourth or fifth cricket table I made, long before the idea of writing a book about them had crossed my mind.
Looking back, it’s interesting to see how much of what interested me then still finds its way into my work today. Some of the things I struggled to accept - imperfection and asymmetry for example - now sit comfortably in my repertoire.

If you’re interested in giving this table a new home, send me a message for details

Today’s cricket table brings together two of my favourite things: the physical outline of a well-worn piece and a murky ...
04/06/2026

Today’s cricket table brings together two of my favourite things: the physical outline of a well-worn piece and a murky patina.

Let me explain.

Cast your eye down to the feet. They’re tapered, which is something you’d often find on old tables after a couple of centuries of being kicked around parlours, coffee houses and kitchens. Wear doesn’t just affect the surface of a piece; over time it changes its shape, and that’s always fascinated me. So many unanswered questions.

This table is a nod to that history. Not an attempt to reproduce a particular antique, but an appreciation of the way objects evolve through use and the stories that become written into them.

Add in a suitably murky finish and you’ve got many of the things I enjoy most about old furniture.
If you’re interested in giving it a new home, send me a message for details.

And here’s another.This table is my contemporary take on the classic stick style cricket table. Made from Douglas fir an...
03/06/2026

And here’s another.

This table is my contemporary take on the classic stick style cricket table. Made from Douglas fir and finished with oil and wax.

Douglas fir is still seen by many as a construction timber, but I think it has a lot to offer furniture makers. One face can reveal beautiful swirling grain while another displays perfectly straight pinstripes. It’s a timber with more range than it often gets credit for. It’s not always the easiest wood to work with either. Depending on where your tool lands, it can feel somewhere between granite and sponge cake. I suspect that’s part of the reason I like it.

Simple construction, clean lines and a material that deserves a closer look.
It’s also one of my personal favourites.

It’s always difficult to part with your favourites, but this one is ready for its next home.
If you’re interested, send me a message for details

Here’s that sliding lock mechanism for previous post
02/06/2026

Here’s that sliding lock mechanism for previous post

Another Cricket Table over the finish line and now looking for a new owner.This piece was never originally intended for ...
02/06/2026

Another Cricket Table over the finish line and now looking for a new owner.
This piece was never originally intended for sale. Built from a combination of oak and ash, it has spent the last few years accompanying me to open houses, exhibitions and shows before finally receiving the finish it deserved.
It also features what I believe to be a unique detail: a knock-down top. The top is held together by a keyed wedge system, inspired by traditional Japanese toolboxes and sliding dovetail joinery. No screws, bolts or other ironmongery - just simple mechanics.

Projects like this often end up waiting patiently in the workshop while commissioned work and T Level classes take priority. It’s satisfying to finally bring one across the finish line.
If you’d like to give it a new home, send me a message for details.m

Put the finishing touches to a couple of Cricket Tables this week.This one features a beautiful brown oak top paired wit...
01/06/2026

Put the finishing touches to a couple of Cricket Tables this week.

This one features a beautiful brown oak top paired with a European oak undercarriage. Originally made as part of a pair back in 2024, this table never quite made it across the finish line until now.

A couple of light coats of shellac and a dark wax have brought out a rich, deep colour that really highlights the character of both timbers.

This design has been one of my most popular pieces over the past few years with customers and students and this table is now looking for a new home.

If you’re interested, send me a message for details.

31/05/2026

A workshop full of final projects, two years of learning, and countless hours of hard work.

Last week our Year 13 T Level Furniture students laid out their completed projects ready for external moderation. We don’t have the final grades yet, and we’ll wait for the official feedback before saying too much...

But when the moderator said he was “blown away” by the quality of the work on display, it’s fair to say we’re feeling pretty proud of this lot.

The final assessment required students to complete two timed practical pieces to a strict specification - a kitchen shelf unit and a Shaker-style cabinet door - alongside their major Design & Make project: a Carver chair of their own design and manufacture. For context they were allowed 30hrs build time - no prototype, no dry run ! Just design it and build it.

These pieces represent far more than timber, joints and finishes. They represent resilience, problem-solving, technical skill, creativity, deadlines met, mistakes overcome, and a huge amount of personal growth.

As the first cohort to complete the T Level Craft & Design Furniture course, they’ve set the standard remarkably high.

Now we wait.

Crucible don’t make a Framing Edition of their Lump Hammer.Which is odd, because I’ve spent the last few years using min...
30/05/2026

Crucible don’t make a Framing Edition of their Lump Hammer.

Which is odd, because I’ve spent the last few years using mine almost exclusively as a framing hammer.

I’ve taken out staircases with it, put staircases back in with it, worked on loft conversions with it, and generally applied it to every task for which a sensible person would choose a completely different tool.

Most recently, it’s been helping me build the new workshop, persuading 4x2s into alignment through a combination of precision engineering and blunt force trauma.

If you’re thinking of buying one from , ask for the Framing Edition.

They’ll have no idea what you’re talking about, but you’ll know

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103 Brighton Road
Brighton
BN99NP

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