The studio
A thoughtful woodworking practice
Elsmere Projects is the workshop of Bernard Elsmere, working from a studio in London. The practice sits between furniture making and interior design - designing rooms, then building the pieces that make them live. Slow, deliberate and made by hand.
How we work
Principles we build by
Responsibly sourced timber
Wherever possible we buy local, air-dry the wood ourselves and know where each piece came from. Reclaimed timber is a first choice, not a last resort.
Joinery before fasteners
Wedged tenons, drawbore pegging, dovetails and hand-cut housings hold our pieces together. A well-jointed piece can be taken apart, repaired and rebuilt.
Natural finishes
Hard wax, boiled linseed oil and shellac - finishes that let wood breathe, darken slowly and weather well. Nothing that seals the surface away.
Made to outlast us
We build things to be handed down. If a piece ever needs repair, we would rather mend it than replace it.
Materials
The wood we work
Samples are available in the workshop so you can see and feel the grain before we build.
English oak
Our principal timber. Air-dried for four years in our own yard, it is strong, stable and rewards age.
American walnut
A rich, dark hardwood used for furniture and joinery where we want warmth and a quiet grain.
Ash
Pale, springy and light on the eye - used for storage, seating and pieces that need to flex.
Reclaimed timber
We rescue beams, floorboards and old joinery, dress them back to health and give them a second life.
Visit the workshop
We welcome visits by appointment - to see the timber, the bench and the pieces in progress.