Jonny Taylor is an emerging furniture maker based in Leith whose practice centres on hand-crafted seating that bridges traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design. Working primarily with wood and natural materials, he is interested in how historic chair forms can be reinterpreted through personal narrative and cultural heritage.

His current work explores a hybrid chair that combines elements of the traditional Orkney chair with the iconic Filipino peacock chair, reflecting both sides of his heritage while examining how craft traditions evolve through new interpretations.

Jonny’s approach is rooted in skilled hand processes, including joinery, shaping, and woven elements, with an emphasis on durability, material honesty, and careful construction. He is particularly drawn to historic chair-making traditions and the ways knowledge is passed between generations of makers.

He has undertaken specialist training with chairmaker James Mursell at The Windsor Workshop, developing foundational skills in traditional Windsor chair making using hand tools and green wood techniques.

During this residency, Jonny will continue developing new work that explores heritage, identity, and contemporary chair-making through experimental furniture forms.

Chair 002, Jonny Taylor (photography, Eleanor Taylor)