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Cabinet Maker
Crafts fine furniture and cabinetry from wood — a step above carpentry in precision and artistry.
Did you know?
Thomas Chippendale's 18th-century furniture designs are still copied worldwide, and one original cabinet sold for over 2.7 million pounds in 2008.
How subjects help
- Mathematics: Plan drawers and doors to the millimetre so they slide and close perfectly.
- Art & Design: Design furniture that uses the wood's grain and colour as part of its beauty.
- Physics: Allow for wood shrinking and swelling with the seasons so panels don't crack.
- Engineering: Cut strong joints like dovetails that hold furniture together without nails.
A famous name
Duncan Phyfe: Scottish-born cabinetmaker whose New York workshop, opened in 1794, made him America's leading furniture maker.
Try it yourself: Design a chair for someone's whole day
- Count the chairs at home. What kind is each one, and what is it used for?
- Pick one person you live with and think through their day. What do they need while sitting: a rest, somewhere to put a snack, a lift in mood?
- Draw a chair designed just for them.
- Label it: what it is made of, any moving parts, its colours, and give it a name.
Industrial designers and furniture makers start by watching how people really use things, then draw labelled designs showing materials and moving parts before anything is made.
Adapted from Design Museum: Lesson plan: design your own chair.
Also try: Make a window like stained glass.
Known for it in
Italy, Germany, Denmark, Japan, UK