The Grain of Humanity

The Grain of Humanity: chairmaking, culture and recovering the lost art of making, explores the cultural, historical and human significance of chairmaking, revealing how humble wooden chairs illuminate wider stories about craft, community and identity. Drawing on history, personal experience and encounters with contemporary makers. It traces vernacular chairmaking from rural artisans to modern craft revival through figures such as Philip Clissett and the Arts and Crafts movement. It argues that making is not merely production but a living ecosystem of knowledge, sustainability and human connection.