Founded in 2020 by furniture designers Sam Cooper and Richard Platt, The Marchmont Workshop are one of the last manufacturers of rush chairs in the UK. Utilising traditional techniques and materials passed down from master to apprentice for six generations to create timeless pieces of furniture, catering to both country and modern homes.

Designed from tree to home, each piece of furniture is meticulously crafted from local hardwoods sustainably sourced from woodlands around our workshop in the Scottish Borders. Every chair has a light but long-lasting seat woven from hand picked common river rushes.

The Canopy chair takes inspiration from the woodlands surrounding our workshop on the Marchmont estate in the Scottish Borders, much of which has been affected by ash dieback in recent years. Using green wood - working with wood that has not been dried - we utilise traditional techniques passed down through 6 generations of master to apprentice in innovative ways to create a more contemporary design. The turned rear legs of the chair flow up into hand-carved winding branches emulating the ash tree and joining into a sweeping split crest, representing canopy ‘shyness’; the phenomena of leaves and branches of two adjacent trees never quite meeting. The steambent crest wraps around the sitter, offering support above a hand-woven seat made from common river rush, which we harvest each summer.