Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 18
Full Grown Brings 1 Bronze Chair to Chelsea, Plans Academy After 20 Years
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · May 18

Full Grown Brings 1 Bronze Chair to Chelsea, Plans Academy After 20 Years

11 articles · Updated · BBC.com · May 18
  • A bronze cast of a Full Grown chair will appear at this month’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show, giving the Derbyshire studio one of its highest-profile showcases yet.
  • The couple behind Full Grown say they will launch a Full Grown Academy within weeks to teach others how to grow furniture, after spending 20 years refining the method.
  • Each piece is shaped from living trees over recycled plastic forms, with branches pruned and grafted into one solid object; a chair typically takes six to nine years to grow and another year to dry.
  • Founded in 2006 by Alice and Gavin Munro, the business now has a few dozen stools, benches and other works growing in its orchard, with pieces already shown by Louis Vuitton and held by major museums.
Is growing furniture a viable future for manufacturing or an art form reserved only for the patient and the wealthy?
As AI promises instant design, what does the ten-year process of growing a chair reveal about our concept of value?