OUR BUSINESS APPROACH
I was fortunate on four counts. I was born into a large South Wiltshire farming family. I met my wife Celia in my teens. I read natural History at university. I undertook an apprenticeship in furniture making with Richard Fyson in Oxfordshire.
The first gave me chalk under my fingernails, a love of the natural world and an insight into the fleetness of foot required to cope with the changes happening in the rural/local economy. The second, a partner steeped in the logistical vagaries of a nomadic military life, with the resultant flexibilities, improvisations and the ability to guide our business. The third, an awareness and respect towards the workings of the natural world. The fourth, an exemplar of the tenacity and skills necessary to pursue excellence with and for all.
These lessons forged our attitudes toward life, culture and commerce. They resulted in a fierce commitment to deal with our clients directly and not through intermediaries. A default position that our business practices should aspire to be sustainable and have a light footprint on the planet but a loud footstep in contributing towards the culture and commerce of our times. We have endeavoured to remain true to these values since we founded our business in 1978.
We have chosen the complicated path of designing, making, administering, marketing, selling and after-selling our furniture directly to our clients. We have always been committed to this because we feel this makes it more fun and very much better value for you. The only place in the UK that you can purchase Matthew Burt Furniture is from Matthew Burt.
Designed and made in England from English timbers and occasionally the odd piece from sustainable European or North American provenance.
“We had known Matthew and his work for many years before we commissioned a chest of drawers from him. It was a question of finding the right space for what we knew was going to be a superb piece of furniture. At last we had a room, in a new house, which needed just one piece of furniture, but a really special piece, a piece that had to be made by Matthew.
“The commissioning process was a joy from beginning to end. Matthew came and spent the time needed to get a feel for what the room needed, both in terms of the style of the piece and the wood he would use. We were given a timetable of how the work would progress and when it would be delivered. Every stage was completed as promised and the work delivered on time and within budget.
“The result is a wonderful tiger oak chest of drawers, the design of which allows the wood to display its extraordinary qualities. It is a very modern piece of design and craftsmanship, which is rooted in a thorough knowledge of cabinet-making traditions. A piece which sits happily in an old house, creating within the room a conversation between the old and the new, on the timeless nature of well-crafted wood.”
