designer-maker of Fine Hand Cr

Philip Dobbins creates bespoke designer-made furniture; drawing inspiration from over thirty years’ skilled craftsmanship, he employs the finest of woods and complementary materials, and merges traditional techniques with contemporary design.

Alongside heritage furniture for collectors and exhibition, Philip undertakes commissioned work; interpreting the client’s taste and lifestyle, to design a piece that they will enjoy living with as much as he has enjoyed making it. The commissioning process usually begins with a visit to the proposed location of a new piece, so that Philip routinely travels to clients around the country.

Philip’s work is regularly shown at the principal furniture exhibitions and galleries, from ‘Celebration of Craftsmanship & Design’ at Cheltenham, to ‘Antiques for the Future IV’ at Sotheby’s.

With a training in the traditional furniture craft skills, Philip still creates occasional copies of period pieces.

"My workshop experience has evolved from early years making exacting copies of the finest period furniture, through to the present, when I aim to be fully involved with the design and making of contemporary bespoke furniture, both to commission, and speculatively for galleries and exhibitions."

"Commission work allows me to interpret the client’s ideas at the highest level of craftsmanship. Speculative pieces allow me to develop my ideas of the continuing tradition of furniture design; informed by that tradition, rather than self-consciously innovative, I look to many periods of design for inspiration, and happily rework a concept that pleases me."

To quote the industry magazine of choice, I am apparently a 21st-century maverick with 18th-century values (Furniture & Cabinet making 2010)