Arthur W. Simpson (The Handicrafts, Kendal): Arthur W. Simpson and his Kendal based furniture making company 'The Handicrafts' was a renowned arts and crafts maker associated with very high quality hand crafted furniture, who worked with by members of the Artworker's Guild, such as Voysey and Baillie-Scott. Today, items of Simpson furniture are hard to find and avidly collected. Materials, workmanship and design are always of the highest quality

Walnut: Walnut is truly special timber with a delicious range of brown and grey creamy colours. The amount of feature depends on where the tree was grown, the best being English with its decorative grain, deep colouring, lustre and durability. It is highly prized for high class furniture, although its high cost and scarcity mean that solid walnut is only found in the very best items

The Arts & Crafts Lakes School was a development of the Arts and Craft Cotswold School. The most significant designers and makers were Arthur Simpson, in Kendal, Stanley Webb Davies at Windermere and the Keswick School of Industrial Arts. Peter Hall of Staveley still produces furniture in this tradition. The Lakes School maintained the ideals with its simple lines, attention to the finest of details, the use of beautiful locally materials and the focus traditional tools and techniques. In fact Stanley Webb Davies' workshop didn't use any power tools at all, even to cut logs from timber!The dominant material was English Oak and typical decorative details often include exposed joints and subtle carved details