Artificial Owl the excellent film production company responsible for making our DVDs have kindly made a 1 minute preview available on their site www.artificialowl.co.uk You will need the most up to date Quicktime player installed on your computer to view the film - go to the "productions" page - take a look. Allow a couple of minutes for the page to load and then click on the black screen to start.

VERY IMPORTANT - Non-UK customers. Please be aware that our DVDs are UK/European standard PAL format region free (0). They will play in all countries using the PAL standard and other regions through most computer DVD players and TV/DVD players that are multi-system "all format" enabled. If your area is not PAL standard, check out your TV/DVD/computer system before ordering please, especially if your region uses NTSC, (mainly USA & Canada). We can only accept returns of discs that are faulty, we cannot be held responsible for non compatibility issues from overseas. We are compiling a list of customers who would prefer NTSC format, if you would like us to add you to this list please e-mail us at sales(at)formerglory.co.uk thanks!

For further information about PAL format and to be sure whether our DVDs will play in your region or not, please visit the link below

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PAL_format

Priced at £18 plus £2 p&p or buy any two of our DVDs for only £30 + £3 p&p

The "Beginners Guide to Cane & Rush Seating" DVD has five chapters/projects:

Introduction - How to recognise which method of seating is needed on the chair frame. Where to buy antique chairs and what to look out for, how to spot hidden damage and poor repairs. What can be successfully restored and more importantly, what can not, plus a description of the materials used and where they come from.

Rush Stool - The first and easiest project. How to re-rush a simple footstool using paper fibre.

Rush Chair - The next stage. How to work rush onto a "trapezoidal" frame, and how to "stuff" the seats.

Cane Panel Chair - How to replace pre-woven cane panelling including how to tint the canework to match older panels.

Hand Woven Cane Chair - The six stages of weaving clearly explained including the preparation of the frame beforehand.

The DVD has been filmed at various locations over two years and is informal, we hope that by watching us work in our normal way you will find the instruction easier to follow. Concise written instructions have also been included giving extra useful information.

There is one short extra chapter included as a "special". During the course of filming we took on a rather large project - the restoration of a Bedford classic mahogany horsebox - it took us 800 hours labour and three months to complete. This extra chapter is the story of "Bernard" the Bedford.

If you wish to place an order, please phone us on 01202 895859 or click here to e-mail.

Advanced Bottoming Techniques DVDs. The First of Their Kind in The World!

NOW IN STOCK released March 20th 2008.

"ADVANCED TECHNIQUES IN CANE SEATING"!

Priced at £20 + £2 p&p or buy any two of our DVDs for only £30 + £3 p&p

The "Advanced Techniques in Cane Seating" DVD has seven chapters/projects:

Introduction - Our welcome and what it is like demonstrating craft at large events.

French Steamer Method- How to use the steamer tool to weave fine French cane.

Bergere - How to work on larger "bergere" furniture with double sided panels and "blind" canework.

Medallion - The processes involved in creating the ever popular "medallion" weave are shown in detail.

Fan Back - Sunburst or sunrise cane backs, a variation of medallion work shown being worked on a very pretty walnut chair.

Close Woven - The intricacies of two knotted close woven cane patterns explained clearly.

Curiosities - A few unusual items that have passed through our workshops.

If you wish to place an order, please phone us on 01202 895859 or click here to e-mail.

We are currently in the final phase of producing our third DVD.

Advanced Techniques in Rush and Cord Work

AVAILABLE APRIL/MAY 2008!!

Hand twisted real rush, covered corner drop-in seats, Vico Magistretti continental pattern, arm through William Morris Sussex chairs, Danish cord work, French straw wrapped rush and mixed media including seagrass.

Visit our "How to" page to see how to use a "steamer" to weave cane.

Cane and Rush Seating Training and other Advisory Services we offer 

Private Tuition

Unfortunately we are unable to book many private courses at present due to pressure of work, (deep sigh!) - many apologies for this but please bear with us, we are working on it.

We are still demonstrating chair seating and restoration at exhibitions so if you would like to see "craft in action" come along and pay us a visit if you can, see our show diary by clicking here.

Education

We can arrange demonstrations or short training courses at home and outside the UK for Craft Groups, Associations and other Educational Faculties. For Wood Turning Associations and Furniture Manufacturers we can organise seating demonstrations/training and an advisory service for creating suitable seat frames for cane and rush work. For Educational Faculties and Health Authorities, we can arrange tuition in cane or rush work as an ancillary craft for Occupational Therapy Departments or Carpentry/Woodworking courses. Please contact us for further details on phone/fax 0044 (0)1202 895859, or click here to e-mail. Our hourly rate for group tuition is from £20 per tutor per hour plus any travelling expenses from Dorset.  

Exhibition/Demonstration

For fairs/exhibitions/demonstrations of working craft or historic/antique interest, we can offer your visitors a stand 25 feet square filled with traditional craft materials, kits, historic information and demonstrations of any "seat bottoming" skill and an insight into the work of antique conservation/restoration. Please contact us for further information - limited dates available. 

Useful Links

The "wicker woman" very informative and friendly US site run by Cathryn Peters, worth a visit - www.wickerwoman.com

For hand made stained glass repairs, panels and cane/stained glass tri-fold screens - www.stainedglass.co.uk

Directory of craft materials and other information - www.craftfair.co.uk

United States directory of antique furniture restorers and cane/rush workers - www.antiquerestorers.com

We are members of the Basketmakers Association, an organisation dedicated to basketry and chair seating - www.basketassoc.org/index.php