On 21 November 2004, furniture designer and maker Philip Koomen was among a select group of British designers invited to a special event at Buckingham Palace in the presence of Her Majesty the Queen, to celebrate excellence in design education and practice. Philip, who was nominated to attend by the Chartered Society of Designers, was one of only two carpenters invited. The UK Bahá’í Review went to visit him in his Oxfordshire workshop.

Philip Koomen’s furniture workshop in the Chilterns is an evocative place. The rich fragrance of freshly cut timber, the sight and sound of craftsmen at work, the feel of the wood in different stages of preparation from rough cut to finished piece, all are delights to the senses. In its definitively English setting the workshop looks traditional. And yet this highly creative enterprise is driven by very modern concerns.

Koomen, inspired by the Bahá’í teachings, regards himself as a world citizenship and his approach to his work reflects the centrality of this belief in his life. The opening quotation in the catalogue of his recent Out of the Woods exhibition comes from The Prosperity of Humankind, a statement issued some years ago by the Bahá’í International Community; it sets out the foundation on which Koomen is building his life’s work:

‘A sense of responsibility can only emerge from the acceptance of the oneness of humanity and will only be sustained by a unifying vision of a peaceful, prosperous world society. Without such a global ethic, people will be unable to become active, constructive participants in the world-wide process of sustainable development.’

Craftsman-made furniture is, by its nature, expensive, but Philip Koomen, who has been

developing his workshop practice for twenty-five years, has found an intriguing way of making such furniture more accessible and affordable without compromising the value of the craftsmanship. Koomen’s concept of semi-bespoke furniture allows his clients to participate in selecting from a range of designs that he has already worked through to prototype and adapting them to their particular needs. Each piece of furniture is a unique variation on a theme.

Koomen takes great pride in sourcing much of his timber locally. His wood yard is full of trees sawn into planks by local sawmills for air drying. He can tell the visitor exactly where each tree came from – mostly from estates and woodlands within thirty miles of the South Oxfordshire workshop. Many of the trees that Koomen buys would not usually be considered commercially viable, but by reducing the number of stages in his supply chain, Koomen can ensure that woodland owners get a better price for their timber.

Koomen’s method of sourcing timber linked to his semi-bespoke design process allows his clients to become involved in promoting his sustainable local woodland cycle. Koomen also buys sustainably produced North American hardwood. In doing this he works collaboratively with

organizations such as the American Hardwood Export Council and Timbmet.

Of course, the trees that Koomen buys from the South Oxfordshire woodlands come in a huge variety of shapes and species. They have unique grain patterns and knots, cracks and uneven colouring, all of which contribute to a ‘unique signature’ that Koomen incorporates into his

designs. To look at the collection of Koomen furniture on display as part of his Out of the Woods exhibition was to see unity of concept holding together a diversity of realization in the actual pieces on show.

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A Philip Koomen garden seat, designed to blend with nature