About Knot Design - London Furniture Maker Will James

Knot Design is a furniture design studio founded by me, Will James.  I am a furniture designer and maker creating timeless pieces for clients across the UK and abroad. I focus on creating timeless bespoke and made-to-order furniture pieces, as well as a fully bespoke offering for truly unique pieces. All the furniture I make uses sustainable native British timbers, many of the trees having once stood on London streets and saved from being burned.  I run a workshop in North London and everything you see on this site was handmade by me.

Knot Design was founded in 2022, but I have been making furniture professionally to bespoke commission for many years before this.  I founded the company to showcase a small range of designs that encapsulates my design style and aesthetics, and plan to grow this offering in the coming years.

With a background in engineering, I have always had a strong affinity with working with my hands as well as my mind.  I was originally a self-taught furniture maker, learning through intuition, practice and perseverance.  However, before embarking on a professional career I enrolled in the full-timer designer maker course at the internationally renowned Waters & Acland furniture school in the beautiful Lake District.

Will James furniture maker and designer London

In the workshop with a nearly-completed piece of bespoke furniture

My work has been exhibited in the UK and internationally, including at the highly prestigious Venice Design Biennale in 2024 (click here for the full list). I have been featured in British and European print and online media and also featured in the international Design Milk blog.  I work for private residential clients but have also collaborated with some of the most talented interior designers in the UK.

My furniture studio is process driven, exploring a variety of techniques to bring out the natural beauty of the timbers that I work with.  From CNC-cut profiles to handcarved texture, my work aims to elevate a humble material to create work that will enhance the homes of my customers whilst bringing the functionality necessary in furniture pieces.  I draw on a wide range of stylistic influences - mid-century Scandinavian furniture, Brutalist architecture, Japanese joinery practices to name but a few.  I find curved shapes often show off the amazing grain patterns of British timbers to their fullest, so these feature heavily in my work.

Will James in a green sweater holding a wooden stool, inspecting it with a focused expression.

Will inspecting an Iver side table in the photography studio

Press

Exhibits

Future Icons Selects, London Craft Week, OXO Bargehouse, 2023

London Design Fair, London Design Festival, Truman Brewery, 2023

Via Arno Salon, Venice Biennale, Fondazione Giorgio Cini, 2024

Media

Design Milk, LDF23: 2LG Studio + British Craft Shine at the 2023 London Design Fair, 2023

Crafts Council, Panel Discussion on Sustainability in Craft, New Designers, Business Design Centre, 2023

Artisan Stories, In Conversation with Furniture Designer Will James, 2023

Konfekt Magazine, Objects of Desire, Spring 2024

Chair Tag, The Avery Dining Table, 2024

Representation

Crafts Council

Find a Maker

Makers Hub

Teer & Co

What makes Knot Design different?

  • local timbers

    Locally sourced timber

    We purchase our timber from as close to home as possible. We work primarily with two suppliers in the South East, to source the finest British timber. Their stock comes from managed forests and estates, as well as urban trees, felled for a variety of reasons. These urban trees would be chipped if not used for furniture.

  • regeneration of an oak tree

    Putting back what we take out

    Sustainability drives the decisions we make every day at Knot. We challenge ourselves to source and produce in the most environmentally sympathetic way we can. In fact timber is an excellent means of carbon capture, but felling trees only makes ecological sense if they are replaced. For every piece of furniture we sell, we plant a new urban tree in the UK by donating to Trees for Cities, who to date have planted over 1.5m urban trees.

  • high level craftmanship

    Built to last

    Whether it is the time-tested use of hand-cut dovetail joinery or the latest in CNC technology, our furniture is made to last the test of time. We will support all clients throughout the design process to create a piece of furniture that is both attractive and durable.

  • mental health awareness

    Mind over material

    Working with natural materials, and putting energy into the creative process has been proven to lessen anxiety, reduce stress and increase positive emotions. These benefits can be hard to come by for many, and we do not take them for granted at Knot. 1% of our profits are donated each year to Mind, the mental health charity to provide support to those in need.

  • Aerial view of a dense forest with green and orange trees, suggesting autumn.

    Environmentally friendly finishes

    Our furniture is finished with a range of natural waxes and oils. All finishes are low VOC and child safe. The ingredients work with the structure of the wood to provide lasting protection.

  • renewable energy sources

    Powered by renewables

    Our workshop, as well as many of the deliveries we make, are powered wholly by renewable sources. Buying wooden furniture is already an excellent means of capturing the earth’s carbon but through our use of renewables we ensure that we emit as little carbon as possible.