Alan Peters obituary
Modest leader of a generation of furniture designer-makers
Jeremy Broun
http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2009/oct/28/alan-peters-obituary
Alan Peters in his workshop in 1984. Photograph: Steve
Roberts
Anyone who can charm their wife-to-be by showing off a
collection of models of English furniture throughout the
ages on their first date has to be on to a good thing. Alan
Peters, who has died aged 76, spent much of his life sharing
his passion for wood and furniture design.
Anyone who met him would notice how he stroked the wood
while sharing his profound knowledge. Probably his greatest
legacy is his integrity as a craftsman and his generosity
and inspiration as a teacher and writer. His Cabinetmaking:
The Professional Approach (1984) is still a major reference
book today. His designs are distinctively understated and
practical, and some offer a timeless expression, such as his
carved "adzed" bowl table. Like the potter Bernard Leach, he
was a link between east and west, as captured in his
Japanese-inspired fan tables.
A modest man, Alan was arguably the leader of a generation
of furniture designer-makers in the 1970s and 80s. He was
one of the few direct links with the Arts and Crafts
movement, having been apprenticed to Edward Barnsley in
1949. His ambition at the age of 16 was to "sweep the
workshop floor better than anyone else", and in 1990 he was
appointed OBE for services to furniture making and design.
The son of a precision engineer, Alan was born in
Petersfield, Hampshire, and had his first home workshop at
the age of 12. He would cycle around the country lanes with
his father, whom he described as an observant man. Alan's
love of nature developed as a boy. It is rare that someone
who is a very precise master of technique can also have the
gift of fluid artistic expression. Although he once said,
"if any of my work is considered art, it would be a bonus",
he clearly made an art of his craft, balancing practical
function with simple visual appeal. He was always influenced
by tradition but was eager to move on and open to fresh
ideas.
Leaving the Barnsley workshop in 1955, Alan pursued a
teacher-training course at Shoreditch College in Egham,
Surrey, in 1957 and then won a scholarship to the Central
School of Arts and Crafts. He met his future wife Laura
while teaching in Egham and she became an integral part of
his professional success, offering unfailing support. They
married in 1962.
That year, Alan set up his first workshop in Hindhead,
Surrey, and his early work (which I spotted in books while
studying A-level woodwork at school) was quite innovative in
using mixed woods and metal for inlay.
His move in 1973 to Kentisbeare, Devon, where he took on
apprentices, heralded his major works. These continued his
love affair with native woods such as Devon walnut, which he
was able to buy in whole trees, allowing him to match the
grain for the front and back legs of chairs. He travelled
the country as an ambassador and pioneer of the craft,
assessing at colleges and judging at competitions. He was
highly regarded abroad and received the award of distinction
from the American Furniture Society in 2002.
A major milestone was a Crafts Council bursary in 1975 to go
to Japan, where he studied vernacular wooden architecture.
This, together with a Churchill fellowship to South Korea,
brought a change of direction. He used less decoration and
more of the wood as the structure. His most important
contribution to the craft was designing furniture where the
grain in all of the members flows in the same direction and
shrinks and expands as one. It is difficult to produce a
piece whereby the timber movement is so perfectly
accommodated, and the adzed bowl table was a good example of
this construction.
Alan was a pillar of British furniture design in the late
20th century - a lovely, kind man. He is survived by Laura,
their daughter, Christine, and their son, David.
. Alan Peters, furniture designer-maker, born 17 January
1933; died 11 October 2009
