From European Design Shows to the Workshop

Inspiration, Craft and Looking Beyond the UK

One of the things we love most about what we do at Dovetailors is that learning never really stops. Interior design, furniture making and contract furniture are constantly evolving and the best way to stay curious is to get out from behind the workbench and see what’s happening beyond our own workshop.

Over the past few months, Emmanuelle and Charlotte have been travelling to design shows across Europe, meeting designers and makers and soaking up ideas that are already feeding back into how we think about furniture and where Dovetailors might go next.

Past Reveals Future

Earlier this month, Emmanuelle and Charlotte visited MAISON&OBJET in Paris, and this year’s theme, Past Reveals Future, couldn’t have felt more relevant to how we work.

At Dovetailors, our approach has always been about balance. We come from a background of fine furniture making, where skill, material knowledge and attention to detail matter deeply. At the same time, we embrace modern technology. Combining traditional craftsmanship with 5-axis CNC machining allows us to stay true to how furniture has always been made, while delivering the consistency and precision required for contemporary interior design and contract furniture projects.

Walking through the show, it was encouraging to see that many leading European brands are thinking in a similar way.

Shared Values Across Borders

One of the most inspiring things about visiting European design shows is realising how many values are shared across different countries.

We were particularly drawn to the use of wood and wool, natural materials that age beautifully and bring warmth into interior spaces. There’s something reassuring about seeing these materials celebrated across different markets. It’s a reminder that good design is often about restraint rather than excess.

We also spent time in the Fine Craft / métiers d’art sections, where we met furniture makers who are deeply invested in skill, process and making by hand. Reflecting on the conversations we’d had on our journey back to Yorkshire, we recognised that even in a fast-moving industry like interior design, craft and individuality remain hugely important.

Travelling through European design shows has also made us aware of the subtle differences between UK and European furniture markets.

Some approaches to form, scale and finish feel distinctly regional, shaped by architecture, lifestyle and cultural expectations. But at the same time, many of the challenges are the same: how to design furniture that works beautifully in real spaces, how to balance creativity with production realities, and how to make pieces that are built to last.

Seeing how other studios and manufacturers approach these questions has been both grounding and energising and it’s already influencing how we think about new designs and future collections.

Evolving our business

Whilst these trips do help with inspiration they are also for planting seeds for the future.

As furniture designers and makers, we’re increasingly aware that our work resonates beyond the UK. Meeting designers, specifiers and makers across Europe has opened up conversations about collaboration and, potentially, European export of our furniture.

That idea is still evolving, but taking furniture rooted in British craftsmanship and engineering-led making and introducing it to new markets is an exciting concept.

Next up, the journey continues a little closer to home with Design Festival North in Leeds this March.