Nature gives our furniture details we could never have designed

We live in a world in which it can often feel that nothing is quite as it seems. The persistent rise of AI-generated images, text and other content leads us to constantly question and test what’s real and what isn’t. And this ambiguity and sense of everything being an illusion is already provoking pushback. Many people are now craving and seeking out products and experiences with provable, tangible authenticity – things that can’t be conjured by a computer or hallucinated by a chatbot.

This, of course, is the world we have always inhabited: a world of natural materials, time-proven techniques and products made to last for generations. We’ve long talked about the ‘honesty’ of our materials: their refusal to be anything other than what they are, and our willingness to work with them and allow them to express themselves fully. 

That principle is perhaps more relevant and relatable now than it’s ever been. Wood is a completely natural material. There is nothing fake about it In essence, wood is weather made solid, with decades or even centuries of sunshine, rain, wind, heat and cold compressed into the grain.

What makes timber so fascinating as a material is that every piece is different, because every tree is different. Even trees of the same species and age that have grown next to one another in the same location will have been exposed to subtle variations in light, moisture, temperature and wind movements over their long lifetimes. They will fork or put out branches in different places, creating unique grain patterns and knots in the sawn timber. And the beauty is that none of this individuality can be predicted, influenced, altered or contrived. It is innate, structural and integral.

For us as designers and makers, this infinite variation is a gift. It gives us an endless palette of features, patterns, colours and textures to work with, all beyond the human imagination or, for that matter, artificial intelligence. 

And in an age where we frequently find ourselves wondering ‘where did this come from?’ here at ercol we now have a doubly reassuring answer. Because not only can we say that our material comes from a real, living tree; in an increasing number of instances, we can also tell you that the tree in question grew right here in the UK.

We’re working in partnership with Grown in Britain (GiB), which aims to strengthen the domestic timber supply chain through improved forest practices. In fact, we were the first UK furniture maker to work with GiB to make products from homegrown timber in commercial quantities.

Our range now includes a growing number of products manufactured exclusively in British ash, each carefully chosen so we can ensure consistent production and quality. The aim is to create a virtuous circle: the more homegrown timber that is available, the more furniture we can make with it, so the more producers will want to supply, and on it goes. What makes this especially charming is that every single one of those trees, and the timber they give us, will still be entirely unique. Which means our furniture always will be, too.