Perhaps only the purest of wood purists will recognize the term “coppice.”

An ages-old forestry management technique, coppicing is the practice of felling a tree down to its stump (which, then—appropriately, given the topic of this post—is a called a “stool”). When new growth from the stool is selectively harvested, the remaining shoots will eventually coalesce into a new tree. This is auspicious from a sustainable management perspective, as it means not having to replant, but furniture makers Alice and Gavin Munro of Full Grown have turned this natural imperative into high art. The couple effectively “grow” chairs from native U.K. hedgerow species like willow, hawthorn, beech, apple, oak, and hazel. 

It’s a fairly straightforward process that requires the utmost patience. They shape new growth around frames—letting them grow for up to a decade—then graft the branches together before harvesting the chair and planing it down, “to provide a better sitting surface and reveal more of its character.”

The Munros have also used the technique to create lamps, chandeliers, and tables, but they’re currently focused on chairs, cultivating them in rows just like an orchard. Nature never (or at least infinitesimally rarely) duplicates itself, so these chairs are absolutely one of a kind.

You may find the Munros’ chairs at museums and galleries throughout the world—keeping company with the work of luminaries like Tom Dixon and David Nash. Present showings include the National Museum of Scotland, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, the Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collection, and the Vitra Design Museum (on tour with their Garden Futures exhibition). Additional pieces have also recently been acquired by San Francisco MOMA and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden / Dresden State Art Collections.

See Full Grown to find out more.