Founded by David Colwell, Trannon specialises in batch-producing steam-bent furniture which is visually stimulating, long lasting and utterly practical. Made from fast growing English ash, stronger than mature oak, Trannon's chairs are renowned for their legendary comfort and healthy support.
When David Colwell founded Trannon in 1978, his vision for business came from a personal passion for design and a world where ecological integrity and respect for the earth's resources were foundational.
In the years since that vision was first conceived, David and his co-director Roy Tam have remained faithful to those founding principals. In doing so, they have pioneered much of the work in sustainable design creating furniture that is timeless, visually stunning, supremely useful and produced using non-exploitative methods.
David is one of the UK's most respected designers. Trained in Furniture Design at the Royal College of Art, his furniture has won many awards and appears in permanent and private collections across Europe including London's V&A Museum and the Vitra Design Museum in Germany. Trannon's workmanship has also been awarded 4 Guild Mark by the Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers.
With over 20 years of impeccable ecological integrity, David Colwell is one of the pioneers of sustainable design and clean production.
Timber is head and shoulders above other structural materials where sustainability and strength are concerned, and fast grown Ash is by far the most resilient. The faster it grows the stronger it is, so the best is often found in young thinnings too small for saw logs. Ash is also self-seeding making it the ideal 'renewable' wood.
Trannon's timber is soured locally, from managed mixed woodlands, strengthening modern forestry and bringing real benefits to rural employment. Currently our source is from Sir John-Eliot Gardner's organic woodlands nearby in Shaftesbury.
Unseasoned ash is the perfect material for steam bending. Steam bends and shapes the wood and uses a fraction of the energy required by conventional methods making it ideal for batch production. It also seasons the wood and produces the graceful, elegant curves that are a hallmark of Trannon's designs.
It is this remarkable shaping that makes Trannon furniture so supremely comfortable, beautiful to look at and long-lasting. Its strength is in its geometry.
We believe that a successful furniture business can also return benefits to rural employment and create important mid-term income for future forest management. To illustrate our continued ecological commitments, our C3 Stacking Chair was displayed in the Green Design showcase at the V&A Museum as well as in the Challenge of Materials showcase at the Science Museum.
The Trannon furniture collection features core pieces that will always be there. Its range of seating combines strong, contemporary design with ergonomic comfort. There are also dining tables, sideboards and settees.
Trannon's customers include private individuals buying for their homes and corporate customers. It also undertakes corporate work on a commission basis and has recently been awarded a major contract with the new Scottish Parliament to design their main desk for its main reception area.
DAVID COLWELL lives and works at Trannon's design studios in Powys, Wales. He trained in Furniture Design at the Royal College of Art, where his first Perspex Chair was purchased by the V&A Museum Collection. He then ran his own design practice where he was retained by ICI and J Walter Thompson. His designs are timeless and his passion is to create furniture that addresses real issues for the future.
ROY TAM lives in Sherborne, Dorset, and is a member of Sherborne Contemporary Arts. He trained in Industrial Design at Imperial College and the Royal College of Art and previously obtained a degree in medical electronics. While working for Cambridge Consultants (his clients included Celestion Loudspeakers, Black & Decker USA, Gent, Guinness, Johnson Wax and NASA), he was elected to be a member of the Design Council selection panel and received the Braun International Prize for Industrial Design. Roy's aim is to work alongside you to deliver the optimum design solution.
British, born in Surrey 1944, lives in mid Wales.
Master of Design, Royal College of Art 1977
Awards:
Silver Medal & 3D Design Award, Royal College of Art
Public Seating Award, Sit 94: National Museum of Wales (Museum of the Year 1995)
FX Green Seating Award: C3 Stacking Chair
4 Guild Mark, Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers: C1 Upholstered Recliner and Footstool, C3 Stacking Chair, Ash Round Tables, T2 Extending Table.
Indexes:
Crafts Council Index, Southern Arts, AXIS, Commissions East, SW Arts, Public arts
Collections:
Vitra Design Museum, Germany: Contour Chair
Victoria and Albert Museum, London: C1 Recliner & Footstool, C3 Stacking Chair, Contour Chair
Victor Papanek's private collection: C2 Director's Chair
Design Museum, London: Contour Chair
Crafts Council Collection: C3 Stacking Chairs
John Makepeace OBE private collection: C1 Rattan Recliner & Footstool
Temple Newsam House, Leeds City Museum: C1 Rattan Recliner & Footstool
Design Centre Index, London: C1 Reclining Chair, C2 Director's Chair, C3 Stacking Chair
The Science Museum, London: C3 Stacking Chair
Exhibitions:
'Classics' Brussels 2003
'100% Design' 1995-2003
'To Have and To Hold' Ferrers Gallery 2003
'Art In Action' Oxford 1998, 99, 2003
'International Festival of Gardens' Westonbirt Arboretum 2003
'Raising The Roof' Walford Mill 2003
'House & Garden' 1997, 98, 2002-03
'Take A Seat' Bluecoat Display Center 2003
'Table Wares' Beatrice Royal Gallery 2003
'Sustainable Designs' Johannesburg World Summit 2002
'Artisan' Edinburgh Festival 1997, 98, 2002
'Take a Seat' Grace Barrand Design Studio 2002
'In Praise or Trees' with English Nature, Salisbury Festival 2002
'Wood x 10' Scottish Gallery 2002
'Homelodge Show House', Ideal Home Exhibition 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
'Ergonomic Chairs' Science Museum Touring Exhibition, London 1999, Manchester 2000, Portugal 2002
'Solo' Artifex Gallery 2002
'Rufford Gallery' Nottingham 2001-2
'Brewery Arts' Cirencester 2001-2
'Chelsea Crafts Fair' 1990-2001
'Designer's Block' London 2001
'MODE' 1999, 2000-01
'Green Design' Bledffa 2001
'Spectrum' 1994-96, 2001
'Wind & Wave' Beatrice Royal Gallery 2000
'Guild Mark Exhibition' Pallant House Gallery 2000
'Country Living Spring Fair' 1994-96, 98-99, 2000
'Guild Mark Exhibition' 1998
'A Celebration of Craftsmanship' Betty Norbury 1995, 96, 99
'International Contemporary Furniture Fair' New York 1995
'Decorative Arts Today' Bonhams 1992-96
'Greenwood' Contemporary Applied Arts 1995
'Conservation by Design' RISD Museum of Modern Art, USA 1994
'Christmas Show' Oriel Moystn 1992
'Living Room' Oxford Gallery 1992
'Having Made It' Oriel 1992
'IDI' 1992
'Exempla 92' Munich 1992
'Chair Gallery' Design Museum 1992
'Beyond The Dovetail' Crafts Council 1991-92
'In the First Place' Aberystwyth Arts Centre 1990
'Furniture Focus' Northern Centre for Contemporary Art 1988
'Recent Work' Leeds Craft Centre and Design Gallery 1983
'Recent Work' (Solo) Prescote Gallery 1983
'The Maker's Eye' Crafts Council 1982
'The Wood Exhibition' Northern Arts 1981
'Prescote in London' Warwick Arts Trust 1981
'Furniture Projects' Crafts Council 1980
'Crafts Council 80' 1980
'Furniture Makers' Prescote Gallery 1978-84
'Chairs' Victoria and Albert Museum 1971
'Whitechapel Chairs 70' 1970
'Perspex 67' Royal College of Art 1967
Start | Domestic | Corporate | Who is Trannon | Eco Award | Shows | Links | Perspex Chair | Contact | Press
8 Jan 2004