HIGHLANDER SIDE CHAIR


Shown in Butternut with an African Rosewood seat and Black Walnut with a Purpleheart seat




      In October of 1991 Peter found himself north of Inverness, Scotland.  After a pub lunch in the village of John o’ Groats, he pulled over to the side of the road to get a closer look at one of the many beautiful, roofless, old stone mansions that had dotted his route that morning.  He heard later from a local that the English had at one time imposed a roof tax in Scotland and that the removal of the roofs on some of these fine dwellings was the action taken by a few Scottish landowners to defy the English.  If this story is true, it definitely opens a window into the Scottish soul, and possibly shines a light on a character trait which was instrumental when it comes to the fact that the Scots were never conquered by the Ancient Romans.  As Peter walked around the remains of the building, a blanket of fog rolled down from the hills covered in heather, bright in their autumn colors.  In the distance he heard the erie sound of a rutting red stag bellow coming to him through the thick grey mist which was now starting to envelope the house.  As a light drizzle began to fall, Peter suddenly felt a great sense of being connected to his past and at home... home to where his great grandfather, Darsie Gordon Anderson, played rugby for Scotland in the 1890s.

The Highlander chair’s ruggedly independent design shows signs where the past is connected to the present. The lines of the front leg have been taken from a chair that was built in the 1920s whereas the back leg definitely has a modern theme to it.  Peter has enjoyed creating the Highlander chair because previous design methods were not adhered to... the canvas was completely cleared for this one!  In his first few chairs the front leg’s shape is mimicked to a certain degree in the back legs, giving the chair a connective flow.  This design practice has not been followed through on the Highlander.  Instead it is a mating of two distinct styles as the chair blends old with new.  Both Walton and Lizanne chairs are studies in curves whereas the Highlander’s design is more relaxed  in this regard and has a fair amount of straight lines mixed in. The back leg, which is cut and shaped by hand from four inch thick stock, is curved to comfortably support the lower and upper back, leaving the shoulders free. The hope is that when you look at this chair from across the room, walk over and touch it, and finally are drawn to sit on it that you experience some of the feeling Peter had in the fall of 1991 on the Scottish Highlands.

Cost: $2,100