Traditional Shetland Chairs

The tradition of making chairs in Shetland dates back centuries, with a distinctive style emerging amongst the islands’ craftsmen during the 1800s. With virtually no trees on Shetland the resourceful chair-makers had to make do with driftwood (‘banks wid’) and re-cycled wood to make their chairs. Generally comprised of a rectangular-section timber frame with panelled back and seat and simple moulded details, chairs were handed down through the generations with many old and cherished examples remaining to this day. Low-seated, the chairs were particularly suited to the small, thatched croft houses of their day, holding sitters close to the ground to ease their work as they arrayed items before them on the floor. These original designs have been the inspiration for Paparwark, now making Shetland Chairs in superior hardwoods to an exquisite quality.