FINN KOEFOED-NIELSEN has a history with trees. He grew up in made entirely of wood. After some the New Forest in a family cottage years in London spent maintaining and repairing, among other things, the Palace of Westminster and some very expensive houses, he set about creating his dream career working with wood. What's more, he was inspired to embark on this new branch of carpentry after reading an issue of COUNTRY LIFE.
I'd been looking for ages for something to do with wood that I would enjoy and that might stand a chance of paying the bills,' he admits over a mug of tea in the kitchen of his stableyard home in sleepy Chilton, Buckinghamshire.
'And then I saw the article in COUNTRY LIFE about Jim Steele, the national treasure.'
National treasure, indeed. Mr Steele made chairs for decades and his work is still sought after worldwide, even now he is retired. He enjoys keeping his eye in, mind you, and he's by no means idle: he's off to Ireland with his wife, Val, at the weekend.
Today, he is here with his protégé to talk about all things chairs-especially Windsor chairs. A sidetrack discussion begins about the minutiae of making Windsor chairs and, for a moment, the pair are lost in another world: one with its own obscure language, characters and pitfalls. They stop to draw breath and Mr Koefoed-Nielsen looks apologetic. 'We can go on like this for hours,' he laughs.
It's fair to say they are obsessed. When we repair to a nearby hostelry for lunch, they waste no time in turning every interesting chair in the saloon upside down, peering at each in minute detail. The barmaid looks on, baffled.
Denne historien er fra September 04, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra September 04, 2024-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Tales as old as time
By appointing writers-in-residence to landscape locations, the National Trust is hoping to spark in us a new engagement with our ancient surroundings, finds Richard Smyth
Do the active farmer test
Farming is a profession, not a lifestyle choice’ and, therefore, the Budget is unfair
Night Thoughts by Howard Hodgkin
Charlotte Mullins comments on Moght Thoughts
SOS: save our wild salmon
Jane Wheatley examines the dire situation facing the king of fish
Into the deep
Beneath the crystal-clear, alien world of water lie the great piscean survivors of the Ice Age. The Lake District is a fish-spotter's paradise, reports John Lewis-Stempel
It's alive!
Living, burping and bubbling fermented masses of flour, yeast and water that spawn countless loaves—Emma Hughes charts the rise and rise) of sourdough starters
There's orange gold in them thar fields
A kitchen staple that is easily taken for granted, the carrot is actually an incredibly tricky customer to cultivate that could reduce a grown man to tears, says Sarah Todd
True blues
I HAVE been planting English bluebells. They grow in their millions in the beechwoods that surround us—but not in our own garden. They are, however, a protected species. The law is clear and uncompromising: ‘It is illegal to dig up bluebells or their bulbs from the wild, or to trade or sell wild bluebell bulbs and seeds.’ I have, therefore, had to buy them from a respectable bulb-merchant.
Oh so hip
Stay the hand that itches to deadhead spent roses and you can enjoy their glittering fruits instead, writes John Hoyland
A best kept secret
Oft-forgotten Rutland, England's smallest county, is a 'Notswold' haven deserving of more attention, finds Nicola Venning
