Working Westray #2

It’s Wednesday, so it’s time for my series on Working Westray.

I’m in a spacious garage in Pierowall with Edith of Westray Straw. She’s working on an Orkney chair made in oak on Westray by Gibo. She’s using a mixture of black and white oat straw and seagrass to create the back of the chair. It’s also going to have a hood, useful here to keep the draught from your neck.

She bundles the straw into a continuous sausage and runs it back and forth, sewing with seagrass to keep it together, and nailing it securely at each side. It’s going to be fabulous when it’s finished and an heirloom in someone’s future.

The traditional construction and painstaking craft mean that it’ll still be enjoyed in a hundred years time. Would you like to own one?

Thanks to Edith for the opportunity to photograph her at work.

More Working Westray