Furniture designer Nick McDonald met Charles Sandford shortly after starting his own brand, Made By Morgen, back in 2015. The two clicked after being introduced by ‘mutual woodworking buddies’, bonding over their shared passion for enduring and sustainable pieces.
‘I’m always annoying him with questions, albeit technical or practical, given we do a lot of custom work so I’m often running ideas past him,’ Nick says. And with Charles’ extensive experience in the industry – crafting timber since 1973 with his own namesake business – he had plenty of wisdom to impart to Nick as an emerging craftsman.
‘I’ve been looking to build my business but have always been apprehensive in over capitalising,’ Nick says, with all Made By Morgan pieces being hand-crafted.
‘Charles Sandford Woodturning and Joinery are one of the largest timber manufacturers in Australia, but predominately do one-off custom pieces. It seemed like a no brainer to utilise my design and marketing strengths with Charlie’s state of the art facilities to create a range of products that can be manufactured locally and sustainably.’
After years in the making and some interruptions by the pandemic, Morgen & Sandford has finally released its first collection. Striking pieces include the arc bedside table and the conical dining table, that can be beautifully paired with the convex stools. Matching curves are showcased in the arc coffee table, while the quarter round sideboard is perfectly mid-century in its aesthetic.
The collaboration has also allowed Made By Morgen’s refined, Scandinavian-style designs to be made with shorter lead times thanks the latest woodworking computerised technology, ‘which is backed up by years of traditional craftmanship experience,’ Charles explains.
It’s the perfect merger of styles and techniques from the past and present, in one covetable range of wish-list worthy furniture.
