Having created a brand synonymous with honest furniture entirely handmade by a skilled team in the English countryside, Alfred Newall is enjoying the last laugh.

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Back when he was learning his craft, a guest speaker at his college expressed doubt as to whether cabinet-making was a savvy career choice. “I found that cynical and a bit off-putting, but ultimately, I had a positive feeling about it,” says Alfred.

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It was as a teenager that the creative developed an affinity for woodworking; his school was blessed with both well-equipped workshops and woodlands, and his deftness for creating small boats and bowls garnered praise. “I’d found something,” he remembers.

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Once trained, Alfred immediately found work making shop fittings for iconic British brands like Liberty of London and cabinets for Plain English kitchens. On the side, he produced bath racks and clothes airers for a lifestyle store. “I like things to be beautifully crafted and get better with age so that they last forever. Wood couldn't be a better material in that respect,” he says.

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In 2018, he launched his eponymous brand and swapped bustling London for the scenic South Downs region on England’s southern coast. His thoughtful designs are rooted in age-old techniques yet fresh and modern in their appeal. Countless Experts on both sides of the Pond—from Salvesen Graham to Heidi Caillier and Zoë Feldman—call on Alfred when seeking a special console or nightstand for their projects. To top it all off, the magic happens just a five-minute cycle from his home where he lives with his wife Tess Newall, a decorative painter, and their three young children.

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Our background story

Once I started my workshop in 2012, I quickly formed relationships with interior designers who would commission custom pieces. It was a great, busy time, and my pieces would often be pictured in interior magazines with a small mention, but I wasn’t really gaining a reputation. So I thought: ‘How do I move on from this stage?’ I realized the secret lay in developing and making my own furniture collection. I wanted to make items that didn’t need assembling and could be sent anywhere in the world, so I started with bobbin.

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Why we all love bobbin furniture

I’d put my finger on it being the relationship between taking a historical detail—both in aesthetics and craftsmanship, which has existed for hundreds of years—and making it quite contemporary. Our bobbin pieces are graphic with a simplified silhouette.

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Why woodturning

It’s quite physical and very repetitive. The piece of wood is spinning on a lathe and you're using a chisel to remove material. It’s one of the first set of woodworking principles I mastered when making bowls, but there's so much about the technique that I didn't learn in college. I formed a really close relationship in Sussex with a local woodturner and when he retired, we took over his business, including the staff and machinery. It's been lovely to continue a company founded 60 years ago.

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The architectural era that inspires me

A lot of my reference books are from the Arts & Crafts period. The philosophy showed such care for the material: the mature tree had to be respected, so to make poor-quality furniture with a piece of oak that had grown for all those years was considered an insult. I also look at early medieval furniture from the 15th century. They’re often so impressive and unusual because there was no mass production. You feel the personality of the maker within it, which I love.

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The unusual places where I seek inspiration

Tess and I will often go to National Trust houses. Whenever we’re traveling, she’ll look up places that we can drop into along the way. It might be a folk museum in Scotland or a dusty place that isn’t even open, but we always discover something special.

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What differentiates our products

I always wanted to be involved in making rather than outsourcing production— and we’re doing that in our workshops right here. We've got a direct connection with everything we produce and a very high standard of knowledge and expertise passed down generations and would otherwise be lost.

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The heirloom piece I’d pass down from one generation to the next

Dining tables feel special because I can’t help but imagine the association people will have with one, and who they’ll sit around it with. There's no greater connection than people sharing and enjoying a meal around furniture.

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My biggest “pinch-me” moment

I love that we've been able to grow a team. I like going into the workshop, chatting with everyone, and seeing them enjoying what they've trained to do. The feedback I get from people is often to give greater challenges; everyone’s on a growth path and wants to learn more about furniture-making because that's what they love doing. It’s such a positive thing.

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What’s next

I’m working on a new collection for the fall that includes wood turning, but also elements from bridge-building, wagons, and chamfering. The latter is quite a specific and niche craft. It will be comprised of larger tables, side tables, mirrors, and smaller pieces too.

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