Throughout our 30 years of designing and making rooms that sit comfortably alongside period architecture, we’ve seen numerous examples of well-made cabinetry let down by their maker’s failure to get the finishing right.
Making and period finishing (or polishing) are completely different disciplines, and in the UK (and more accutely in the US), the art of period finishing has slowly become victim to mechanisation and modern pressure spraying methods. This is understandable. As accountants push companies to build in efficiencies to boost profit, something’s got to give. That something is often hand finishing.
While our accounts team form a vital role within Artichoke, we do not let them dictate the methodology of our craft (much in the same way that our French polishers are not given responsibility for managing our work in progress valuation). While the wider world of fitted joinery has marched enthusiastically into the modern era towards profitable glossy spray applied finishes, we’ve chosen a different route, instead bringing period finishes up to date without compromising their original integrity and character.
While period finishes are more complex to apply than their modern replacements delivered from a spray gun, they do offer more versatility. Being hand applied they allow for human touch to infiltrate the finished result. They require mixing by hand, they require an experienced human eye to achieve the right colour balance, they require craftsmen and women to make aesthetic decisions.
Up until now, the difficulty with many hand applied finishes has been that they have not been robust enough to withstand the rigours of modern family life. At Artichoke we have spent many years perfecting how to develop period finishes which look authentic but perform well for modern families in modern environments.
The ability for a skilled craftsman or woman to make their own judement on the outcome of a piece goes to the very heart of craft. If you take this away from them, you are stripping out the soul of a piece. And we don’t do soul-less.
To see some of the stunning work we have completed please click here.