He Sold Chopping Boards as a Schoolboy. Now Sean Evelegh’s Furniture Is in The World of Interiors

Sean Evelegh is a London furniture maker who designs and makes unique pieces of free-standing fine furniture by hand in his workshop in Kent, combining contemporary design with traditional woodworking. He fell in love with woodworking at 13, thanks to an inspirational teacher, and while still at school sold his earliest piece – a set of chopping boards – at the Young Furniture Makers exhibition in London.

Sean starts by seeing the space where a piece will go, preferably in person, then sketches and suggests woods with beautiful, striking grain – often species his clients have never heard of. He makes every piece in his Kent workshop with hand tools and modern machinery. He doesn’t tend to make pieces that take under a month, and his longest commission, a longcase clock in brown oak, took around six months.

Sean’s work is all custom commissions: he designs a unique piece for each client. It starts with a brief discussion, then he sees the space, presents several designs and refines them with the client until the piece is right. Pieces typically start at around £3,000 for a coffee table. He occasionally works with interior designers and architects, and has shipped work around the world.

Sean’s clients have come mainly through traditional media, high-end craft fairs and word of mouth. Features in House & Garden and The World of Interiors gave his business serious credentials, and fairs placed his work between functional furniture and art. Instagram and YouTube show that every piece is made by him – he has around 3,500 Instagram followers and over 40,000 on YouTube.

Sean was about 13 when an inspirational teacher introduced him to woodworking – and he fell in love. “From that moment, I knew I wanted to do this as a career, and I put all my effort into making that a reality.”

He had been making things for as long as he can remember: his parents have videos of him as a toddler, cutting up cardboard and taping it together to create objects. In his early school years he loved art. After woodworking took hold, he slowly built up his tool collection and expanded his workshop while he studied Furniture Design and Making at university, so that when he finished, in 2020, he could start making furniture full-time.

“I have been making things for as long as I can remember.”

Before he begins designing, Sean likes to see the space where the furniture will go, preferably in person. Once he understands the surroundings and his client’s preferences, he sketches. He suggests woods with beautiful, striking grain, “hopefully introducing my clients to species they have never even heard of.”

He designs and makes every piece in his Kent workshop, combining hand tools and modern machinery and paying painstaking attention to every component. How long a project takes depends on its complexity: he doesn’t tend to make pieces that take under a month.

His longest commission was a longcase clock for a client who loves watches, clocks and fine furniture. The client bought a clock movement and let Sean design the cabinetry for it. Sean wanted to pay homage to Britain’s heritage of longcase clock making while making it distinctly contemporary and his own. Intricate inlays, mosaic work and moulding add fine details, and every face – even those not on show – was finished to the same level. The piece took around six months; the primary wood is brown oak.

Studio shots of Sean’s furniture, and Sean demonstrating woodworking at a craft fair. Photos: Josh Cameron (studio), Susanna Pozzoli (demonstration).

Sean’s clients are typically London-based, though he has shipped work all around the world. The most requested pieces are coffee and dining tables, but he has been commissioned to make everything from radiator covers to mosaic wall art. “The possibilities with wood are almost endless.”

Every piece is a custom commission. He occasionally works with interior designers and architects, but finds his clients typically prefer to work directly with him. The process starts with a brief discussion about the piece; once he has seen the space, he spends time designing, presents a number of designs and refines them with the client until the piece is absolutely perfect for them. Then he makes it by hand. His pieces typically start at around £3,000 for a coffee table, but this varies widely; he makes around six pieces a year.

Sean sold his earliest piece while still at school. “I got my very first client while exhibiting at the Young Furniture Makers exhibition in London as a school student. While looking around, he saw my work and commissioned a set of chopping boards from me. Selling my first piece, while still in school gave me a real thrill.”

Traditional media have been very beneficial for attracting clients, and high-end craft fairs have increased his exposure and helped position his brand “at the intersection between functional furniture and art.”

Social media works differently: Instagram and YouTube have helped establish authenticity, because potential clients can see that every piece is made by him in his workshop, with the hard work and love that go into it. He has around 3,500 followers on Instagram and over 40,000 on YouTube.

“There was never a moment I doubted my career as a woodworker.” What was harder than expected was building up his workshop financially with all the necessary machinery and hand tools. Everything seemed very expensive, and it took a long time to reach the point where he felt he had enough to confidently make larger pieces of furniture.

At university, while studying Furniture Design and Making, Sean documented his builds on YouTube. A desk he made caught one viewer’s eye, and the man got in touch: a desk like that was what he wanted for his home office. Sean designed and made him a bespoke piece, “and we have built a great relationship since.” From that commission he built up his portfolio, and work picked up through media exposure and word of mouth.

Then journalists spotted Sean’s work, liked what they saw and were intrigued by his story and how he got into woodworking – and they wanted to feature him in House & Garden and The World of Interiors. A few enquiries came directly from those features, but the most significant impact was the serious credentials and backing they added to his business. His work started getting recognised: at exhibitions, people have come up to him to say they had seen his pieces and read about him in the magazines.

“I design and make unique pieces of free-standing, fine furniture, combining contemporary designs with traditional woodworking skills and techniques.”

Have a question for Sean about his work or a commission, or a few words about his story and work?
Leave them in the comments at the end of this story.

Who: Sean Evelegh
What: Handmade fine furniture – unique, free-standing pieces
Where: London, UK; workshop in Kent
Started: 2020
Audience: Around 3,500 Instagram followers, over 40,000 on YouTube
Customers: Around six pieces a year, mostly for London clients
Price range: From around £3,000 for a coffee table
Custom orders: Yes – every piece is a commission
Ships: Worldwide
Works with designers: Occasionally
Channels: Word of Mouth & Offline, Video Platforms, Social Media