Arts, Rush & Cane

Cranborne Chase Woodfair 2009

CANE

***This is a guide: I need to see the chair to price accurately*** I will quote from photos but this quote will be only a guide price.
A new seat will last c.40 years with ‘normal’ (i.e. sitting only!) use. Please note - A cane seat should always be used with a cushion - cane panels are beautiful, but essentially only act as a suspension for a cushioned seat.
Prices quoted above are subject to change without notice if the price of the raw materials changes.

Cane seats and panels are priced by the hole. That is; the holes drilled through the perimeter of the wooden frame.
Tip: To count holes, look underneath; the bottom or back of the holes should have a ‘sewn’ or ‘stitched’ appearance
and the holes are easier to see, especially if the top is finished with ‘Beading’ (see below).

Holes through the frame

Sunrise Pattern

Prices are for replacement of whole panels.

Minimum charge for hand caned panel: £50.
An average seat starts at min. 70 - 80 holes. Average cost c. £85
Through Holes = £1.10 per hole (Up to 100 holes)
100+ holes = £1.20 per hole

Blind Holes = £1.50 per hole
(Usually side or back panels where the cane is not visible at the back)

Double Caning = £1.50 per hole, but count all of each panel’s holes every time.

Elaborate shapes – Circular & Sunrise, etc = number of holes +20%. Medallion = holes + 30%

Machine or Loom cane = from £50/panel
(Chairs have a perimeter groove into which the pre-woven cane is set. Time and careful work is needed to remove the old cane and clear this groove of cane and old glue before replacement). Please do not ask for an old (holed) cane seat to be ‘converted’ to take a loom cane sheet!

Beading = £10 per seat/panel over 90 holes only.
This is the wide edging strip sewn in place to finish off the seat. As a convention this became common after c.1860 to the present.
On Regency and older chairs it is mostly absent.

Patterns

Prices quoted are for the standard 6-Way pattern, which is strong and durable.
Other pattern variations are possible, but some are suitable only for non-weight-bearing panels.
I will usually replace like-with-like, unless the existing patternis obviously wrong for the chair.
Different patterns may cost more, or, less, than the standard, depending on their complexity.
However, please remember that the cheap option is just that. If it’s not as strong, it won’t last long!

Marguerite, Snowflake, Cobweb or
Star of David Pattern

6-Way Pattern

RUSH
***This is a guide: I need to see the chair to price accurately*** I will quote from photos but this quote will be only a guide price.
A new seat will last c.40 years with ‘normal’ (i.e. sitting only!) use.
Prices quoted above are subject to change without notice if the price of the raw materials changes.
Please do not ask for rush seats to be repaired. It is not possible to do this except for one or two coils and
still maintain the integrity of the seat.
Rush is traditionally priced by area; per square inch.
However, this is modified by the size of the individual coils; smaller coils take more skill and more time
to complete the same area.

Minimum charge for hand coiled English Rush: £70.
An average seat (dining or side chair) will be c. £90+
Prices are quoted based on the area of the seat and any additional work necessary.
Large coils (3 – 4 coils per inch) = £0.35p/sq”
Medium coils (5 – 6 coils per inch) = £0.40p/sq”
Small coils (7 - 9 coils per inch) = £0.50p/sq”

Raw materials

I use English freshwater rush wherever possible as I love the colour variations and find it beautiful to work with. It is 6 – 9’ long with a range of greens and golds in its first year after harvest, aging through pale greens, yellows and duck egg blue into mellow golds after a couple of years.
To match one chair to a set where brown (probably Dutch) rush was previously used, or for very fine coils, I will use Dutch rush (salt or freshwater), which is 3 – 5’ long in browns and golds, aging to a richer brown. Its 'harder' and more expensive than the English rush.

Cheaper options are Reel rush – machine twisted natural rush coils, or Paper rush – machine twisted paper coils, on a reel or bobbin. In general I don’t use these except to replace modern drop-in seats. While they are cheaper and quicker to use, you get what you pay for; as the coils underneath the seat do not hold in the stuffing/padding as securely and will not last as long.

Patterns
I usually replace like-with-like in terms of pattern and coil, unless the
existing seat is obviously wrong for the chair.
The common English pattern is the ‘envelope’ shape of 4 triangles
meeting in the middle of the seat, often with a
central ‘bridge’ running left to right.
Continental patterns give a deeper seat and have many variations
on a theme.