Growing Chairs, or How Wood Turns into Furniture

The idea of ​​growing furniture belongs to the British artist and designer Gavin Munro. As a child, he saw a huge bonsai, which was shaped like a throne. This picture did not go out of his head for many years. Over time, it transformed into the idea of ​​turning trees into furniture. After 20 years, after many experiments, he succeeded.

In 2005, Gavin founded his company “Full Grown”. I bought a field in Derbyshire in the center of England and planted about 30 trees from which I wanted to grow chairs. Two days later, cows broke out on a neighboring farm and trampled everything. Gavin didn’t give up and started over.

In 2008, Gavin bought a larger field and planted 3,000 trees this time. He hoped that if a herd of cows came again, then at least some of the trees would survive. Fortunately, everything worked out and he began to practice. After 4 years, he grew the first chair.

In the process of growing, Gavin faced a number of difficulties. Often, branches that were bent in the right direction died off, and where they were not needed to form a stool, they grew. The author came up with the idea to use plastic chairs to give the desired shape.

Depending on the type of wood and desired shape, the chair takes two to five years to grow. Then they harvest: the chairs are cut, and the trees are left alive. The tree rests for two years, and then a chair is grown from it again. Suitable for production are walnut and fruit trees, as well as willows, beeches and maples. Prices for a finished chair start from 1000 euros, and for a lampshade – from 200 euros.