The throne of the quiet man ~ Ríchathaoir an fhir chiúin.

Sugan is the Irish word for straw. Sugan chairs were typically found in rural Irish homes, they were produced by local craftsmen. The chairs came in a variety of forms and styles, some were constructed with arm rests to welcome weary limbs after a hard days work in the fields, others were constructed without arms to allow as many people to sit around the dinner table or turf fire.

The chairs were constructed from locally available woods ideally Oak  ~ Doire  or Ash ~Fuinseog . the straw seats were woven into many different "weaves" depending on the local area where they were produced, the straw woven seats are strong and more comfortable than a hard wood seat with no need for a cushion and are easily woven from a readily available material. The woven seat in addition to provided comfort also provided strength to the chair frame, the Irish sugan chair is constructed to a simple design without the use of mechanical fixings, its strength comes from the framework of legs connected with spindles via mortise and tenon joints.

I have created my own interpretation of the traditional Irish Sugan chair, which i hope will capture the spirit and resourcefulness of the Irish craftsmen who created the sugan chair centuries ago.

Shane is a furniture maker based in North London, making traditional and contemporary furniture including the historic Sugan chair. Unique to Ireland the chair is a classic example of product design responding to its local surroundings. Having refined the technique of Sugan chair making, Shane now runs his own workshop producing an exclusive and celebrated modern interpretation of the Sugan chair.

Shane is a time served carpenter and artisan woodworker with over 30 years experience in the construction and demolition industries. Timber heritage and provenance are key to Shane’s furniture, he uses only the best quality material working exclusively with wood, recycled from demolition sites in London including the historic Horseferry Magistrates Court, the Shell Building, and also utilises locally felled timber in north London. The workshop that Shane has built is constructed entirely from materials salvaged from Horseferry Magistrates Court.