David Savage in his personal shop at Rowden.
For the last two weeks I’ve been teaching a course and taking a class in veneering at David Savage’s school and workshop, which sits on a farm in rural Devon.
It is an inspiring place where amateurs and professionals hone their skills to the highest level – piston-fit drawers, London-pattern dovetails, drawing, design, veneering and French polishing. And unlike many places I’ve taught, the makers there make no distinction between hand- and power-tool work. Both are taught in equal measure and the students there are encouraged to exploit every tool to its fullest, from the shaper down to the marking knife.
The workshops are in one of the most rural parts of England, filled with narrow roads, farms, hills and few houses. So there are little distractions. You phone isn’t likely to work, nor is your GPS or other devices. Internet is slow and spotty.
So you have to feel your way through the work by hand and by eye – and late into the evening.
Below is a gallery of photos that offer a tour of the workshops at the Rowden Atelier from by David, Daren Millman and the other full-time instructors at the school and professional furniture shop.
Take a look.
— Christopher Schwarz
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- Daren Millman, Savage’s right-hand man, shows the templates that students will use to cut veneers for a sunburst.
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- David Savage in his personal shop at Rowden.
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- The smallest bench room on the second floor of the shop. Here Steve works on the edge of a commissioned table while Will works on a veneered panel in the background.
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- The second bench room at the top of the stairs on the second floor. Here three short course students built their chests during the two-week class.
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- The large second-floor bench room for the veteran long-term students.
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- The first-floor bench room where Daren Millman and Paul (a long-term student in the background) work.
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- A multi-purpose room (currently set up with a veneer press) where supplies and cramps are stored.
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- The opposite wall of the supply room.
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- The large first-floor bench room. Here is where beginning students start out, working their way up to the top-floor bench room.
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- The fully equipped machine room.
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- On the left is Savage’s personal shop – plus the kitchen and a storage room (sometimes a bench room). At right, the bench rooms for the students and teachers.
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- “The Barn” – David Savage’s shop, offices and library at Rowden Atelier.