About
Ed Brooks furniture is a family business designing and producing outdoor, garden and indoor furniture.
Our Story
Founded in 1999, when chartered landscape architect Ed and his father David were working on a garden design project for a 15th century country cottage. They could not find a suitable gate or bench to fit the irregular walls and organic shapes of the rural setting so David suggested using wind fallen timber in its natural form. They hand split pieces of oak and chestnut following the natural forms and curves. The end result was a huge success and inspired Ed to start sketching. More commissions came in as word spread both locally and all over the UK .
Ed Brooks
Ed heads up design and often finds inspiration in unusual places. Dividing his time between London and Dorset or wherever the next project takes him. As well as working on furniture design Ed is also an award winning landscape architect working on a variety of projects from country house estates to more urban design projects including Fleet Street, Bow Church Yard and the forthcoming redevelopment of Leicester Square.
Alex Brooks
Alex is Ed’s brother and a furniture maker who trained in London and joined the business in 2004 to run the workshop. He manages the often challenging process of turning a concept into a durable, working piece. Alex’s background in furniture making is indispensible although Alex would say that working with the irregular shapes characteristic of Ed Brooks furniture is more challenging than the right angles used in conventional woodwork.
Marion Brooks
Marion, Ed and Alex’s mother takes care of administration and is often the first point of contact for new business enquiries. She runs a tight ship when it comes to paperwork and with her background in accounts is always on hand to offer advice on the financial aspects of the business.
David Brooks
David still continues to lend his expertise on large constructions such as tree houses and bridges. David’s background is in construction, house building, carpentry and forestry. He also manages the woodland which supplies much of the windfallen and copiced timber for the projects.
What We Do
The sense of place and story behind each piece is key to everything that is made – as is the provenance and natural character of timber. For that reason in 2007 we bought our own 13-acre wood, just a few miles from the workshop so now most of the timber is from there. Hinges and metal work are custom made by the village blacksmith and where possible other materials such as stone, copper, steel and glass are recycled from previous use.
What We Stand For
Provenance – the materials we work with tend to be local, durable and responsibility sourced.
Place – our work is designed and built to work with the natural surroundings.
Reliable – our furniture is built to be dependable, strong and to last.
The organic lines and natural finish means that the pieces do not tend to date and fit in well with mosts styles of building. Each piece is built to last, the mortice and tenon joints are carefully hand worked to fit the natural curves of the wood. Hand splitting the wood along the grain means the pieces have more strength than when timber is sawn straight.
How We Work
Ed or Alex, where possible will visit a clients property or look at photos of their garden and its surroundings to get an understanding of where and how they live before designing something accordingly.
If you have any questions or would like to know any more about our work or prices please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Prices
Each piece we make is handmade to your requirements and therefore, unique. However, to give an indication of prices please take a look at some of our most popular pieces:
Chestnut garden gate – indicative price of £660 + hinges, latch, posts and delivery. Click here to view
Chestnut 5 bar entrance gates – indicative price of £1400 + hinges, latch, downbolt, posts and delivery. Click here to view
Chestnut and oak garden bench – indicative price of £890 + delivery. Click here to view
A simple backless bench has an indicative price of £400 + delivery. Click here to view
If you have any further questions on pricing or for a quote, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Products
As well as commissions the range has also expanded to include products such as pictures frames, mirrors, stools and timber blocks. The inspiration for these pieces started in the same way – with the natural beauty of the timber. Alex discovered a wind fallen beech tree had spalted to create an exquisite marbled pattern in the timber. This rare timber has been used to create multi-functional beech blocks that make characterful stools or side tables. The roughly textured oak used for the picture frames and mirrors is over 100 years old.
In 2018 Alex launches his own brand, Alex Brooks Furniture which focuses on indoor pieces of furniture such as coffee tables and side tables for bedrooms or occasional use. We take slices from across the tree retaining the organic form of the tree and telling it’s life story. Please visit Alex’s website for examples. www.alexbrooksfurniture.co.uk.