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robinson house studio

Marc Fish

furniture school

Tel: +44 (0)1273 513611

Email: info@marcfish.co.uk

Booking now for the 12 week, 24 week and 50 week
Long Furniture Design & Makers’ Courses
Next start date 5th September 2022.
Open Weekend: 10th & 11th September 2022.

We are open and Covid-19 secure – read more here.

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  • Welcome
  • About RHS
    • About RHS
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    • School Founder – Marc Fish
    • Theo Cook – Senior Tutor
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    • An Overview
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    • Open Weekend – Sept. 10th & 11th 2022
    • 2022 Workshop Video
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Gift Vouchers

Looking for an unusual gift or experience?
Why not buy a course gift voucher for a loved one this year? The vouchers can be for any amount and the recipient can redeem it against any course here at robinson house studio. Weekend courses start at £295.
More details here: marcfish.co.uk/gift-vouchers.

Weekend Courses

  • Carbon Fibre and Composites Weekend Class

    This course provides hands-on experience of the sophisticated techniques used in the composites industry. Next course date: TBC Cost £400.

  • Cricket Table
    Derek Jones at Robinson House Studio

    Next Course: 15th – 16th – 17th Feb 2023. This course is taught by expert maker Derek Jones. The key principles for building a cricket table are simplicity, necessity and ingenuity. Using just two types of joint it’s possible to create a robust structure from almost any species of wood that can be used to make a variety of different pieces of furniture.

  • French Polishing with Derek Jones

    Next course: 19th July 2022 £195. A one day course on French polishing with shellac, run by Derek Jones, once editor of Furniture & Cabinetmaking magazine and author of French Polishing, Finishing & Restoring Using Traditional Techniques.

  • Introduction to Hand Tools for Furniture Making
    Marc Fish's tool board

    Covering handtools, there will be practical sessions on planing, sawing and chiseling – forming the ideal starting point for cutting and fitting accurate joints. Next course: Date TBC Cost: £195

  • Japanese Toolbox with Derek Jones

    Japanese style joinery can be extremely complicated but there are occasions when simplicity and function come together to make the perfect form. Next course: 2022 Dates TBC Cost: £295

  • Laminating Weekend Class

    Next courses: TBC. Cost: £295 Experience these amazing techniques and take your work to a different level! As laminating is more accurate than steam bending, it is ideal for combining sculptural work with fine cabinet making.

  • Make A Six Board Chest with Derek Jones

    The six board chest is a design that is almost as old as the concept of furniture itself and is as relevant today as it has ever been. Next course: TBC Cost: £295

  • Make a Wooden Hand Plane with Theo Cook
    How to make a wooden hand plane weekend

    Next course: 8th-10th July 2022, 3 days. £400 Learn how to make a wooden plane. This will involve skills such as bandsawing, routing, drilling, shaping with a spokeshave, sanding and finishing.

  • Making Jigs & Templates
    Andrew Strickland RHS cabinet making student

    Next Course: Date TBC. Jig and template-making one day course, £195.00 Learn how to make your own jigs and templates at this one-day course with Robinson House Studio’s senior tutor and master craftsman, Theo Cook. The course covers making jigs by hand as well as the use of CAD programs, laser-cutter, and a CNC router.

  • Making the Perfect Dovetails Weekend Class

    Next Course Date: 19th – 20th November 2022. Ideal if you want to know more about the mark of a master craftsman – the dovetail joint! When well-executed it is the epitome of high-level work. Cost: £295.

  • Spindle Moulding Weekend Class

    The spindle moulder is a versatile machine – we cover safe use and setup, rebating, shaping, using formers, tenons, power feeds, jig making, and guarding. Dates: TBC. Cost: £295.

  • Steam Bending with Charlie Whinney – 1 Day

    Next course: 16th July 2022 Cost: £240 – 1 day Steam bending is an ancient woodworking process which is found on every continent.

  • Veneering One Day Course
    Josh-Wilton-box-RHS-student

    Next course: TBC, £195 for one day course. This one-day introductory course is designed to help attendees understand and apply different approaches to veneering.

  • Wood Carving with the Wood Warlock
    Dickie Baugh, the Wood Warlock, woodcarver

    Next Course: 3rd – 4th December 2022. Cost £295. We are delighted to have Dickie join us to offer would be woodcarvers chance to explore this ancient art form with a master of the craft.

View all Weekend Courses

Course Booking T&Cs

Please ensure you have read the Terms and Conditions for booking courses before making a payment:

Booking-Terms-and-Conditions.pdf.

Students' Work

Student work at robinson house studio

View some of the stunning student work produced at robinson house studio.

Read more

Testimonials

Having worked in Software Engineering for a lifetime, I wanted to develop practical skills with tangible results and hopefully make something I could be proud of. The course has provided me with an insight into the exacting standards necessary to create fine furniture and is equipping me with the key skills. I have particularly enjoyed Marc’s enthusiasm for the design elements, his encouragement to challenge traditional design and to be open to a breadth of inputs/influences.
Gordon White
During my time at Robinson house studio I learnt how to combine traditional making techniques with modern design.
Dan Ryder Cook
I followed Marc’s 12 week course and am delighted with what I learned and achieved. Marc is an excellent teacher. He is thorough and patient and adapts his advice well to the ability and confidence of each and every student.
Duncan White
Prior to my time at robinson house studio I had worked as a carpenter both on site and in a workshop. I realised I wanted to pursue making bespoke fine furniture and felt that a course with Marc at the studio offered in-depth cabinet making tuition as well as the opportunity to explore design. It certainly proved to be an exciting environment to be a part of, with emphasis on contemporary design and the use of innovative new materials and techniques.
Luke Olney
Having left school to join the creative industry, I wasn’t sure where to start. After researching areas, I was interested in I found that Marc’s courses and ‘robinson house studio’ were exactly what I was looking for as I wanted to explore various elements of design within the industry. When I found Marc’s course online we had a long chat about what I can achieve within the course, what his work entails, his design philosophy and teaching method. It was an easy choice after that to sig… Read more
Christian Watson
My year course at Robinson House Studio has been a very valuable experience thanks to the high quality learning environment that Marc Fish offers to his students. Marc adapts his teaching to each individual according to their skills and confidence, taking care of our progress with infinite patience. I found Marc’s passionate approach to furniture design & making a vibrant artistic echo to explore my own creative expectations, and to turn my design ideas into consistent furniture pieces. I apprec… Read more
Thibaut Degenne

Open Weekend: 10-11/09/22

We are delighted announce an open weekend! 10th & 11th September, 2022.
Open hours – 9.30am – 4.30pm
The entire workshop will be open to visitors, with both floors available to view. From the hi-tech machinery and materials downstairs to the student rooms and teaching areas upstairs.

Stay in touch

We send a newsletter out approximately 4 times a year with new course dates, students’ success stories, general news and updates at the studio. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign-up here  on our Contact page.

Our address:

robinson house studio,
Unit E1 & 2 Eastside Business Park,
Beach Road, Newhaven,
East Sussex. BN9 0FB

Find us on Instagram

robinsonhousestudio

Our head tutor here at the school Theo Cook @theo_ Our head tutor here at the school Theo Cook @theo__cook had this amazing video made of the hand plane he’s been working on. 

It’s been really great for the students here to see how the whole process works. 

Back story 

The creator/ designer 

-Theo Cook 

-History 
2 year furniture making course at Highbury College, Portsmouth, UK

5 year apprenticeship at The Edward Barnsley Workshop, Petersfield, UK @barnsley_workshop 

2 year employment as a craftsman at The Edward Barnsley Workshop. 

1 year at The Krenov School of fine furniture. Fortbragg, CA, USA. @thekrenovschool 

9 year employment as a craftsman at Senior & Carmichael, Dorking, UK.

7 years and continuing as a full time tutor here at Robinson House Studio furniture school, East Sussex, UK 

The plane:

Started back in 2019 with hundreds of hours of design and development.

Hand technical drawings 
CAD drawings 
3D printing 
Casting of handles 
Full-size prototype in aluminium 
Making parts 

Plane parts made from billet 304 stainless steel: 
Body 
Lever cap
Lever cap screw 
Bailey stile counter lever blade adjuster 
Blade adjustment plate 
Blade adjustment screw 
Blade side to side adjuster 
Back handle locking plate

Blade:
O2 tool steel with HSS steel tip 

Handles:
Cast forged carbon fibre with copper leaf

Other parts/ components:
Copolymer Delrin adjuster plate 
Bronze adjuster wheel 
Bronze side to side adjustment thread 
Titanium threads for front handle and lever cap screw 
Hardened steel pins 
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Credit to Chris the filmmaker for this @chriswelchfilmmaker 
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#handplane #handtoolsonly #handtools #handtoolthursday #stainlesssteeltools #carbonfiberparts #toolmaker #toolporn #woodworking #metalwork #tooltime #engineering #furnituremaker #artist
Another look at this Luxury shaving box designed a Another look at this Luxury shaving box designed and made by our former 50 week student Ian @ianburnelldesigns 
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Made from European walnut burr, the finest Scottish leather and a custom fit interior for Edwin Jagger's stainless steel shaving set. 
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This box was made with the environment in mind, in that all the materials used were eco friendly. The burr, leather and shaving kit was sourced locally and the substrate, Forescolor is an fibre board that has no formaldehyde added. 
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#woodenbox #burrveneers #cabinetmaker #box #shavingbox #woodworkschool #woodart #woodartist #furnituremakingschool #furnituremaking #craft #craftsmanship #handskills #finefurniture  #bespokewoodwork #handmade #cabinetmakingcourses #furnituremaker #furnituredesign #woodworking #dowoodworking #designers #designs #woodwork #oneoff #bespokedesign #students
Closeup of this fantastic coffee table designed by Closeup of this fantastic coffee table designed by @katoinman_woodwork here at the school.
Tom used a Kumiko design on the top of the coffee table which really makes this piece stand out. 

 #designer #maker #woodworking #furniture #courses #school #furnitureschooluk #furnituremakers #handcrafted #cabinet #finefurnituredesign #Graduates #contemporaryfurniture #instagramwoodworkers #coffeetable #studentwork #furniturecourse
New to the workshop a surface grinding machine tha New to the workshop a surface grinding machine that Theo @theo__cook  has purchased for the school.
Mainly so that he can use it on his most recent Hand plane making project.
This makes a great addition to the school machine workshop.

 #maker #cabinetmaker #woodworking #furniture #courses #finefurniture #designer #business #surfacegrinder #vintage #machinery #school #workshop #woodworkingmachinery #precision  #engineering #tools #toolmaking
Here is one of our former students @richarddesigne Here is one of our former students @richarddesignermaker working on one of his lamp designs that he produced whilst being a student at robinson house studio during his training with us.

 #design #furniture #courses #woodworking #handskills #cabinetmaker #furnitureschooluk #maker #dowoodworking #course #finewoodworking #bespoke #bespokedesign
Do you think it’s flat enough? Our head tutor Th Do you think it’s flat enough? Our head tutor Theo @theo__cook spent hours flattening the underside of the stainless steel plane he’s almost finished. 
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#handplane #handtools #handtoolsonly #toolporn #handmade #handtoolthursday #stainlesssteeltools #handtoolwoodworking #handtoolwoodworking
We recently had Charlie Whinney @charliewhinneystu We recently had Charlie Whinney @charliewhinneystudio at the school to teach our students Steam bending for a day.
They all had a really good day and came away with great steambent lampshade.

Keep an eye out on the website to book straight on to the next steam bending course.

#woodworking #furniture #design #craftsmanship #wood #courses #woodworkingcourse #steambendingwood #steambending #design #furnituremakers
A look back at the “Love Bench” In waney edge A look back at the “Love Bench” In waney edge yew wood and bog oak. Designed and made here @robinsonhousestudio furniture school by our former 50 week student Lu Scott @luscottdesign 
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We are so proud that after graduating Lu got an amazing job at the prestigious @silverliningfurniture 
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#bogoak #carvedwood #yewwood #waneyedge #woodcarving #bench #woodenbench #metalwork #brass #cncrouter #woodworking #design #studiofurniture #details #designermaker #furnitureporn #furnituredesign #furniturestudio #furnituredetails #finefurniture #woodjoinery #joinerydetails #designstudio
A look back at this writing desk made by our 50 we A look back at this writing desk made by our 50 week graduate Rory Hitchen @rory.hitchen 
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Made in stack laminated oak veneers then fumed. The writing surface is leather. 
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#furnituredesigns #desk #writingdesk #woodveneer #oakveneer #cabinetmakingcourses #bespoke #handmade #finefurniture #designermaker #maker #studiofurnituremakers #wookworkingskills #designermaker #woodworking #woodworker #wooddesign #woodcraft #craftsman #furnituremaking #bespokefurnituredesign
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