Stunning Vintage Mid Century Desk Chair by Beithcraft

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Armchair or Desk Chair by Beithcraft

£249.00

A combination of stunning mid century looks and fantastic design.

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  • Description

    Ultra cool chair manufactured by famed mid century maker Beithcraft of Ayrshire, Scotland. Perfect for your lounge, office, hallway, study or bedroom, this piece combines stunning mid century looks with fantastic design and comfort.

    This chair shows strong influences from Scandinavia where those famed Danish mid century designers combined teak and rosewood with black vinyl to provide some extremely cool chairs. The real focus of Danish design, the object that had the longest-lasting influence, was the chair. Cabinet pieces were important, but the chair was the fundamental form. A chair is the hardest thing to design because it’s got to be comfortable even though people are made in all different sizes, shapes, and forms. What’s comfortable to one person may not be comfortable to another. In fact Mies van der Rohe once said that designing a chair was much more difficult than designing a skyscraper. That’s got to be somewhat of an exaggeration, but the important thing is it’s a much more technical subject than we might realise.

    From 1845 until the 1980s, Beith, in Ayrshire, had the honour of being the most important furniture-manufacturing town in Scotland with a reputation for high-quality furniture. The origins of the industry can be traced back to Mathew Dale who started by making hand-built furniture for local people in 1845. A former employee of Dale, Matthew Pollock progressed the manufacturing by introducing machinery in a factory setting 3 miles (5 kilometres) outside of the town at Beith North railway station. After approximately twelve years, Pollock and his brothers sold the factory to Robert Balfour, and moved into the town to expand their business. Balfour suffered the same problems as the Pollock Brothers in being unable to attract employees from the town willing to walk the 3 miles (5 kilometres) to work. In 1872, he built a factory near the Beith Town railway station and persuaded the railway company to build a siding to allow easy transportation of raw materials and finished products.

    The industry expanded across the local area making it a centre of excellence in furniture manufacturing, and building its reputation throughout the world. In the late-1920s, transportation switched away from the railway but the industry continued to burgeon with many companies producing high-quality furniture. Balfours, latterly known as Beithcraft, were for a number of years the main manufacturers of mantelpieces in Scotland, some were designed in the elegant style, and required the skill of expert woodcarvers. Matthew Pollock Ltd supplied furniture to both the RMS Queen Mary and the RMS Queen Elizabeth II.

    Furniture is no longer produced in Beith due to the closure of the various manufacturing firms. The closures were caused by a multitude of problems such as the economic downturn, and an inability to compete with self-assembly furniture firms and their increase in popularity. The last major furniture manufacturer to close was Beithcraft which finished in 1983 (after a major fire a few years earlier, which destroyed large sections of the plant) with the loss of 420 jobs. With this final closure came the end of Beith’s reputation for being one of the main furniture manufacturers in the country. This history of carpentry is remembered in the nickname of the local football team, Beith Juniors, who are commonly referred to as “The Cabes” (Cabinet Makers).

    W55 x D50 x H80cm (Seat Height : 44cm)

  • Condition

    As can be expected with vintage pieces, this item may have minor wear. Please contact us if you have any queries regarding condition. If the sizes, colour, etc all work for you, we’re more than happy to make you a pre-purchase video to confirm condition, prior to you placing your order.

  • Delivery

    We can easily help arrange delivery via trusted furniture couriers who operate throughout the UK. The delivery part is simple. We send furniture to London and all parts of the UK every week of the year. We’re also happy to accommodate you if you’d prefer to collect in person. Prices do not include delivery.

  • Location

    We have two showrooms, in Ayrshire and Glasgow, and viewings are by appointment. We can arrange viewings day or evening, 7 days a week. Please call, Whatsapp or text Stuart on 07534323180 to arrange a viewing.

Description

Ultra cool chair manufactured by famed mid century maker Beithcraft of Ayrshire, Scotland. Perfect for your lounge, office, hallway, study or bedroom, this piece combines stunning mid century looks with fantastic design and comfort.

This chair shows strong influences from Scandinavia where those famed Danish mid century designers combined teak and rosewood with black vinyl to provide some extremely cool chairs. The real focus of Danish design, the object that had the longest-lasting influence, was the chair. Cabinet pieces were important, but the chair was the fundamental form. A chair is the hardest thing to design because it’s got to be comfortable even though people are made in all different sizes, shapes, and forms. What’s comfortable to one person may not be comfortable to another. In fact Mies van der Rohe once said that designing a chair was much more difficult than designing a skyscraper. That’s got to be somewhat of an exaggeration, but the important thing is it’s a much more technical subject than we might realise.

From 1845 until the 1980s, Beith, in Ayrshire, had the honour of being the most important furniture-manufacturing town in Scotland with a reputation for high-quality furniture. The origins of the industry can be traced back to Mathew Dale who started by making hand-built furniture for local people in 1845. A former employee of Dale, Matthew Pollock progressed the manufacturing by introducing machinery in a factory setting 3 miles (5 kilometres) outside of the town at Beith North railway station. After approximately twelve years, Pollock and his brothers sold the factory to Robert Balfour, and moved into the town to expand their business. Balfour suffered the same problems as the Pollock Brothers in being unable to attract employees from the town willing to walk the 3 miles (5 kilometres) to work. In 1872, he built a factory near the Beith Town railway station and persuaded the railway company to build a siding to allow easy transportation of raw materials and finished products.

The industry expanded across the local area making it a centre of excellence in furniture manufacturing, and building its reputation throughout the world. In the late-1920s, transportation switched away from the railway but the industry continued to burgeon with many companies producing high-quality furniture. Balfours, latterly known as Beithcraft, were for a number of years the main manufacturers of mantelpieces in Scotland, some were designed in the elegant style, and required the skill of expert woodcarvers. Matthew Pollock Ltd supplied furniture to both the RMS Queen Mary and the RMS Queen Elizabeth II.

Furniture is no longer produced in Beith due to the closure of the various manufacturing firms. The closures were caused by a multitude of problems such as the economic downturn, and an inability to compete with self-assembly furniture firms and their increase in popularity. The last major furniture manufacturer to close was Beithcraft which finished in 1983 (after a major fire a few years earlier, which destroyed large sections of the plant) with the loss of 420 jobs. With this final closure came the end of Beith’s reputation for being one of the main furniture manufacturers in the country. This history of carpentry is remembered in the nickname of the local football team, Beith Juniors, who are commonly referred to as “The Cabes” (Cabinet Makers).

W55 x D50 x H80cm (Seat Height : 44cm)

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