Cornwall LivingIssue #129
The future of furniture
Ross Phoenix of SeaSaw Designs looks ahead to a sustainable future for his craft, bridging the gap between luxury and eco-friendly.
The lights are twinkling, the smell of freshly cut pine and cinnamon waft through the streets and the yearly slogans of ‘support the economy – buy local’ and ‘zero waste Christmas’ are given their annual airing. After a turbulent few years for the UK, people are keener than ever to do just that, with a reported 60% of Brits buying from local stores, and online crafty platforms seeing growth.
Christmas is traditionally a time where we loosen our purse belts and enjoy all the frivolities of the season with no expense spared, yet many eco campaigns scream of less is more. So, is there a place where luxury and eco-friendly can happily meet? Ross Phoenix of SeaSaw Designs thinks there is, and set up his luxury bespoke furniture and kitchen company with a dream of bridging this gap, noting the link between economy and ecology as more prevalent than ever in the construction industry.
Living and working in the beautiful Cornish countryside, Ross was inspired to work with wood as a time-honoured, sustainable, natural product with endless applications. Yet, he also sees the effect of global concerns first hand in the oceans he surfs and the land he gardens. While SeaSaw Designs has many practises in place to ensure a reduction of waste and the carbon footprint – such as purchasing most of his raw materials from sawmills in Cornwall – looking at the bigger picture, most of the oak is sourced from France, ply from Europe and other hardwoods from the USA.
While he welcomes the upturn in demand for high quality bespoke homewares, he notes that the price of timber has soared in the past year due to factors beyond the
UK’s control.
“We really must press our government to make good on their plans,” says Ross, “to use the perfect growing conditions on our fair isle and make serious moves on the ground (outside Scotland) to produce more of our own timber, and particularly our own high-quality plywood which is the material used in all SeaSaw Designs’ cabinets and kitchens.”
Optimistic for the future if this happens, Ross continues; “Our economy could reap the rewards of being a more self-reliant island and the reduction in prices on our shores could also cut the demand for mass produced, poorly made furniture, which is not just good news for the pocket, but also the planet, meaning we could really have our Christmas cake – and eat it too!”
SEASAW DESIGNS