Ring the bell.
This week, we shipped Hembury Chair number 100.
It’s currently on it’s way across the Atlantic to a lucky owner called Amy.
It’s a landmark moment for us.
A century of chairs.
One hundred seats for one hundred bottoms.
Each of these chairs is unique and made with an undervalued wool from the Lake District. The wool of the iconic Herdwick sheep.
It’s taken us just over a year to sell 100 chairs. And boy, have we learnt a lot during that time.
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As makers, the objects we create embody our ideas and beliefs. Our products capture a moment in time.
For us, the Hembury Chair was our way of showcasing Solidwool. It gave the material a voice, a way of telling our story and the hope we had for the material.
It’s hard to say how many we will make of this first chair, but it’s almost certain that by this time next year the mould, and the design as it stands today, will no longer be in service.
In order to keep moving forward, we want to develop the material and our manufacturing processes. We want to build a small, empowered team of makers at the Solidwool factory. This will require a step up in production capabilities all round.
Our goal is to create a 100% natural wool composite. And by doing this, bring you the story of other wool's that are undervalued. To continue creating products which inspire and are made to cherish.
Your dreams should scare you after all.
What this means though is that one day we’ll be able to look back on this first Solidwool chair and know that only a few hundred people were lucky enough to own one.
Craft is the new luxury.
So if you want to get yourself a piece of Solidwool history, then you had better be quick.
"A chair is the first thing you need when you don't really need anything"
- Ralph Caplan, American Design Critic