an introduction to Gerald Summers and

Makers of Simple Furniture 

In February of 2018 we launched our very first publication. We aimed to research and present a selection of pieces designed by British furniture maker Gerald Summers. His small workshop, based in West London, Makers of Simple Furniture operated for less than 10 years from 1931 up until the outbreak of WWII. The company went bankrupt as the import of Estonian birch plywood became restricted.

Makers of Simple Furniture‘s work was based on the sole potential of plywood, and their catalogue of furniture ranged from hand-cut dove-tail jointed, flat sheet rectangular cabinets to almost-free formed armchairs using a single piece of plywood; small desk tidies to full scale interior projects.

Summers is a name that is not totally unheard, but whose work is scarcely seen. At the publication of our small book we had a number of original pieces designed by Summers for sale.

Edition: 500

ISBN: 978-1-9999313-4-6

Size: 265 x 180 mm, 40 pp., softback

Design: Joe Gilmore (Qubik)

DA (Desk Armchair), 1934 with PADD (Pedestal and Drawer Desk), 1935 – Makers of Simple Furniture trade catalogue, c. 1936