Makepeace Exhibition.

[Mike.R]

My social media page has reminded me that 11 years ago I visited the John Makepeace exhibition that was making its way round the country at the time.

I thought you'd like to see some photos I took that day.

 

[Mike.R]

The only pieces for sale were the zebra cabinets.

They were £ 90,000.00

 

[Adam W.]

I like the look of the three legged ones in the background of picture 1, but the other stuff doesn't flick my switch at all.

 

[Ollie78]

I like the desk lot, and the similarly designed tall cabinet. And the one with the wavy front.

Ollie

 

[Cabinetman]

A lot of it isn’t to my taste either but it’s the craftsmanship I’m looking at as much as anything, the sycamore chest that has three tops made to look like cushions is clever but I’m not sure about the end grain ends, put there to make it look like it’s made from blocks of wood and is one solid piece presumably, reminds me of an end grain cutting board.

 

[Doug B]

Wow I can’t believe that its 11 years since that touring exhibition, if I remember correctly it was entitled John Makepeace Enriching the language of furniture, I saw it at the Harley Gallery, time certainly flys

 

[Jacob]

I've always disliked Makepeace and Parnham etc - so much about posh chaps making ridiculous giftware for mega wealthy clients. But have to admit it does look very jolly!
Saw at Harley too.
I like the "Playtime chest of drawers" might copy it and use up a lot of offcuts.

 

[baldkev]

Id like to make that kind of money!! whats the best way to find rich clients??

 

[thetyreman]

I love the pointy dark brown chair

 

[Ozi]

Must say I like the chair in picture 6. A mere 90K for the cabinet, must look lovely in your living room - or did you leave it behind when you moved?

 

[Phil Pascoe]

^^^^ yes to the chair, it's my favourite piece too.

 

[Cooper]

I've always disliked Makepeace and Parnham etc - so much about posh chaps making ridiculous giftware for mega wealthy clients.

Years ago we were told that if we wanted to make a reasonable living from our design and craft skills we had to receive enough of a return on our time, to make it worthwhile. That would mean charging a lot. We were then told that if you want to sell at a high price the only way to convince the people with money that an item is worth a lot is to put a ridiculously high price on it. Makepeace and co's work were much closer to the fine art market, where prices for some fashionable artists are sky high, than a furniture shop. What some people pay has little to do with intrinsic value and is more about potential as an investment.
I never had the confidence (and possibly the talent) to charge a lot nor found that world particularly attractive, so I quickly retrained as a D&T teacher and had a very enjoyable and reasonably secure career.