Handcrafted with care

Crafts such as furniture making have traditionally been passed down through generations of tradespeople. Nowadays, with consumers tending to buy factory-produced items, fewer people are learning these skilled trades which, as a result, are slowly being eroded.

Solid handcrafted furniture from James & Company provides quality examples of the type of traditionally-made wooden furniture becoming increasingly harder to find. Husband and wife team Simon and Rebecca James work together to design and create pieces such as freestanding wardrobes, dining suites, bed bases, coffee tables and kitchen units.

Using traditional English construction techniques like mortise and tennon joints and dovetails on the drawers, each piece of furniture is made using the same type of timber. There is no plyboard or second-choice timbers used on backing or drawer bottoms, says co-owner Simon James.

"We are a boutique furniture manufacturer. Every piece of furniture we produce is crafted by one person, made to order and is finished inside and out," he says.

"Our prices are competitive with retail furniture outlets, but the quality of items produced using traditional construction methods, and our attention to detail give these furniture pieces long-lasting appeal."

Simon learned his trade on Guernsey in the Channel Islands, and his designs intermingle with French and English influences. He says part of what makes hand-built furniture interesting is that every piece is different.

"We don't have a range as such. Our gallery has examples of the type of furniture we can create, but our emphasis is on providing people with choice and individuality," he says.

All furniture from James & Company comes with a 15-year structural guarantee, which is renewable upon inspection following expiry of the warranty period.

Contact James & Company, Cnr Mills Rd and Ford Rd, State Highway One, Blenheim. Phone: (03) 570 5772 or (03) 572 2777, email: jamesandco@xtra.co.nz, website: www.jamesandco.co.nz.

Story by: Trendsideas