Dezeen Magazine

Liam Treanor adds to collection of handcrafted minimal furniture

Clerkenwell Design Week 2016: British designer Liam Treanor has expanded his collection of handcrafted wood furniture to include shelves, a side table and a pendant light (+ slideshow).

New range of furniture and lighting by Liam Treanor explores traditional crafting techniques

The Grafton Shelving Unit displays the designer's characteristic restrained aesthetic, with five shelves spaced at diminishing intervals as they near the top of the unit.

The shelving is supported by cylindrical posts that angle inwards to make a design feature at the back.

New range of furniture and lighting by Liam Treanor explores traditional crafting techniques

Treanor's focus on craftsmanship continues with the tripodal Lowick Side Table. It features hand-turned legs that meet the table's surface with pinpoint accuracy, which the designer says "comes with the understanding of wood as a material".

"My goal is achieving well-considered products, designed and constructed to endure, while not overcomplicating the processes used in their making," Treanor told Dezeen.

New range of furniture and lighting by Liam Treanor explores traditional crafting techniques

The final piece in the new collection, which was unveiled at Clerkenwell Design Week last month, is the Newton Pendant Lamp.

Combining a sateened brass spun central element encircled by a 40-centimetre wooden disc, the pendant is designed to hold a large, decorative light bulb.

New range of furniture and lighting by Liam Treanor explores traditional crafting techniques

As with all of Treanor's designs, the pieces are manufactured in the UK using high-grade, sustainably sourced FSC certified timber. They are available in ash, oak, walnut or black stained ash finishes.

"I initially trained as a fine furniture and cabinet maker and therefore high-quality production has always been a given with my pieces," said Treanor.

New range of furniture and lighting by Liam Treanor explores traditional crafting techniques

"Look at the number of components and the processes used to produce them – these are not overcomplicated yet have their own special appeal."

The furniture design industry is currently experiencing a revival of craft and traditional making methods.

New range of furniture and lighting by Liam Treanor explores traditional crafting techniques

One of the leading figures in the movement has been Sebastian Cox, whose work has included an "urban rustic" kitchen featuring rough-sawn timber, and a series of weaved products that aimed to revive the historical craft of swilling.

New range of furniture and lighting by Liam Treanor explores traditional crafting techniques

"One of the things that unite us is our ability to make," Cox told Dezeen in 2014. "If we can develop a product that possesses subtle evidence of craft, then I believe it resonates with a customer's primitive maker urges."

"As a result the customer will enjoy that thing all the more, and everyone has enjoyed keeping it out of landfill for longer."

New range of furniture and lighting by Liam Treanor explores traditional crafting techniques

Other designers reviving traditional crafts include Moss & Lam, who recently launched a series of tables created using an "alchemic" technique rediscovered by the studio, and Wingardhs' Tattoo stool, decorated using a UNESCO-listed carving technique.