HCA Awards Evening: Winners of the Trainee of the Year award

We are delighted to announce that at the HCA Awards evening, Sam and Rich were chosen as winners of the Heritage Crafts/Marsh Christian Trust Trainees of the Year for our work over the last two years, first apprenticing to Lawrence Neal and then launching The Marchmont Workshop: the 1st new rush seated chair-making workshop in the UK since 1958.

We are truly humbled to have won this award, and would like to thank some important people who have helped us along this journey. First of all, we will be forever indebted to Lawrence, not only for teaching us this wonderful craft, but for his assistance in launching our new workshop. To Hugo Burge who supported both of us through our apprenticeship, and through his work creating the creative spaces at Marchmont House including the redevelopment of our fabulous new workshop. And to Robin Wood, Patricia Lovett and the team at the Heritage Crafts Association for first of all recruiting us and then honouring us with this award.

There’s bound to be somebody we’ve missed, so a big thank you to anyone and everyone else who has supported us over the last two years and moving forward.