50 Ashbourne Road
Derby
Derbyshire
DE22 3AD
Tel: 01332 344 363
Joan Gilbert is an expert is Cane and Rush Seating Repairs she has been replacing cane and rush in chairs, settees, bedheads etc., for many years and is recognised as second to none for her quality and skill. She has been recommended by Homes and Gardens, Country Living, Metropolitan Home, Ideal Home magazines and Bonham's Directory and Mend It and also the Craft Council and Conservation unit.
There are examples of her work at Kedleston Hall, Chatsworth, Locko Park, Derby Cathedral, Calke Abbey and many other stately homes. She has had customers send their furniture from over seas including as far away as The United States.
Split cane or ratan is imported from Malaya and Indonesia in six widths, covering the most delicate work up to the broad edging of some large chairs. The cane is woven in long lengths through holes in the sides of the chair. Modern furniture typically uses prewoven sheet cane secured into grooves. These modern chairs can also be reseated, but the sheet material can not be used on the older chairs which have to be hand woven.
The raw material is the English green rush or Scirpus Cacustris from the fen country and the River Thames. The rushes, which can be up to ten feet in length, are harvested in late July or early August. Unlike cane, rush is worked damp and is continually twisted to a uniform using one, two or three strands together. All knots (tying one rush to the next) are made underneath the seat.
For more information please call Joan Gilbert on the above telephone number or E-mail, or use the link below to visit the main website.