Christian O'Reilly

Alice Chairs ready for upholstery

Christian — Thu, 17 May 2012 18:30:52 +0000

Here are a couple of shots of the two Alice chairs having the final detailing and finishing done ready to go to N K Upholstery.

Neils Workshop

Christian — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:05:17 +0000

I went over to see Neil Kitteridge this morning. Neil is an exceptional upholsterer, a master craftsman. When I design a new upholstered piece, I always talk through the project with Neil. That way I make sure the final piece turns out exactly as planned.

Neil works in an old barn just outside Wolfardisworthy (Wollsery) and the only problem is booking the job into his schedule. He is always busy.

Bovey Tracey Contemporary Craft Festival

Christian — Thu, 10 May 2012 18:43:15 +0000

We will be exhibiting at the contemporary craft festival next month.It is a great exhibition with lots to see and do.

Alice chairs in progress

Christian — Tue, 08 May 2012 20:24:43 +0000

I fitted all the leg joints for the two Alice chairs today. One is been made in olive ash and the other in oak. Now to dismantle them again and finish the shaping of the back hoop before fitting it to the legs.

Pretty hand grenades

Christian — Mon, 07 May 2012 12:54:43 +0000

We had a lovley time at Cotehele house on Sunday. Loads to do with the kids as part of their 50 things to do before you’re 11 3/4 campaign.

Whilst walking round the house I took a photo of three pretty bottles in a wire carrier on the wall. Turns out they’re hand grenades.

Foxy Lady

Christian — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:18:07 +0000

Yesterday we had a visitor in our garden. A female fox who seemed to have no fear whatsoever. Where we live in Cornwall there is plenty of wildlife around but we seldom catch a glimpse of a fox. Normally they are very shy and would disappear at the smell let alone sight of a human. This female was very bold, she clearly has a litter and must be very hungry to be scavenging in broad daylight. She spent about 10 minutes with me and the boys looking for scraps to eat and as you can see, having a very close look at us.

Walking on Sunday

Christian — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:30:53 +0000

Although Sunday’s weather was a bit wet, we decided that a walk was still in order. The coastline round here is stunning whatever the weather (apart from when it’s foggy and you can’t see it). We often do a short circuit which takes us out from Morwenstow church , past Hawker’s hut and then follows the path back along Tidna chute. It also has the advantage of starting and finishing at the Bush Inn.

St Aubyns Church

Christian — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 09:46:14 +0000

Client: Le Page Architects

Brief : To make the Alter, Bishops Chair and Lectern for the refurbished church.

Description : I met Amanda Le Page of Le Page Architects during the summer, whilst exhibiting at Bovey Tracey Contemporary Craft Fair. We got chatting and she told me about a project that they had been working on in Plymouth to restore a church. The church had fallen in to disrepair and was close to being closed, when Le page Architects came up with their plan to retain part of the building as a place of worship and create a public library in the remaining space. The main work was completed and they needed someone to make the alter, lectern and a chair to complete the project and asked if I would be interested. The church area is on a beautiful floating mezzanine, with glass ballistrades under the huge stained glass window, with the library being on the ground floor.

I collaborated with Charlotte Burden of LePage Architects to realise her designs, which beautifully echo the architecture and proportions of the church.

Materials : Oak, glass and steel.

London Gallery

Christian — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 15:11:22 +0000

We have recently become members of the prestigious Contemporary Applied Arts (CAA) in London. Originally founded in 1948, they have been representing contemporary Bitish makers ever since. They have a large retail gallery on Percy Street in London where I will be exhibiting work later in the year. As part of the application process I had to take work down to show them. As we are currently low on stock we took my desk and chair from home, explaining that these were pieces in daily use in a busy houshold. It was commented that it was nice to see how well the pieces stood up over time and how beautifully the wood had aged.

Solid Oak Sideboard

Christian — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:34:58 +0000

Description : The brief was for a cupboard/sideboard to hide away paperwork and other clutter in the kitchen-living area of a family home in London. The room is quite long and receives dominant side lighting from one end. They have a couple of large prints hung in the room , a Roy Lichtenstein and a Warhol. The piece also had to fit in with the modern table and chairs.I felt the sideboard needed to have a strong graphical feel which would fit into this contemporary environment yet still retain a visable level of craftsmanship in its design. The vertical bars create hard lines of light and shade broken by the more subtle horizontal divisions.

Materials : Solid quarter-sawn European oak and cedar of Lebanon.

Dimensions : L: 1250mm D:530mm H:890mm

Finish : Hard wax oil

Solid Oak Sideboard

Christian — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:34:54 +0000

Materials : Solid quarter-sawn European oak and cedar of Lebanon.

Dimensions : L: 1250mm D:530mm H:890mm

Finish : Hard wax oil

Wood everywhere

Christian — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 12:32:51 +0000

Why is the plank of wood you need always at the bottom of the wood stack?

Tidy workshop

Christian — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 20:39:03 +0000

I have spent the last few days sorting out the workshop. With the help of some new shelving and storage I have finally found homes for the numerous little odds and sods which ‘may come in useful’ some day. Many of the sods were deemed to be of absolutely no use what-so-ever and have been filed in the bin. Here are a couple of pics of the workshop. They are in black and white as the shelving is alarmingly orange and I haven’t quite come to terms with it.

Lectern for St Aubyns

Christian — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:13:28 +0000

Yesterday I delivered the final piece of furniture for St Aubyns church. The Alter, lectern and Chair (made by Sean Stowell) are the final pieces of the project. Here are some pics.

RAMM Seating

Christian — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 09:58:10 +0000

Description : A range of seating designed for the Royal Albert Memorial Museum in Exeter. The museum has recently undergone a major renovation, including the addition of a modern wing. The challenge was to design seating which worked in both the new galleries and the original Victorian spaces. There is a lot of exposed structural detail in the original parts and I really liked the way that the decorative details and the more industrial elements interacted. I echoed this in the design, using a decorative moulding and big bolts to attach the planks onto the metal frames. The curved shapes on the brackets were inspired by the shapes on a huge, original stone fireplace in the museum.

Materials : Powder coated steel bases with solid oak tops.

Dimensions : L: 800mm - 2500mm D:500mm H:730mm

Finish : Hard wax oil