Bespoke English oak memorial bench

The Brief:

The passing of a family member is an incredibly difficult thing to come to terms with. For local resident, Penny, a memorial bench was the perfect way to ensure her parents’ memory lived on. Penny contacted us through our website, she had a picture of what she liked but wanted us to tweak certain design aspects making it a totally bespoke piece with some custom features and personal engraving.

Action taken:

We began by developing the design on paper, helping Penny bring her ideas to the fore. She was keen that we used English oak, purely because it’s considered some of the best and is becoming increasingly rare. A reason why high street shops commonly stock European Oak.

Once the bench was assembled and dry fitted (before it’s all glued together) we asked the customer to visit our workshop and provide us with the two memorial plaques and a picture of her parent’s cat who was always by their side. As a special extra the cat was hand carved on the inside leg of the bench. Once assembled and carved the customer approved it and we proceeded to glue and sand the oak ready for its protective finish.

Outcome:

The bench was finished by applying two clear coats of external Osmo Oil – considered to be the among the best and most hardwearing finish available. We were invited to the opening of the Crawley Museum, the place that Penny’s parents were the curators of, and this is where the bench will remain, in loving memory.

Materials Used

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  Oak