Tailor-made candelabras and candle trees, sconces, tables, hat racks, bespoke umbrella stands, and £2000 chandeliers. They are all the fruits of shed hunting and made from Scottish red and fallow deer antlers. Horn carving is an ancient Scottish art and is still going strong.
Nick and Priscilla Parry started “Clockhouse Furniture” thirty years ago but only started making antler furniture in 2005.
“It started with a one-off commission for a stool with antler legs for a customer in Scotland,” says Priscilla, who worked as a research assistant in the House of Commons. “We finished it. Then the customer disappeared. We were going to a trade fair and asked to bring something traditionally Scottish and, at the last minute, chucked the stool in the van and it turned out to be by far the single best-selling item at the show. Nothing could be more Scottish than antlers!
“We then got asked for a chair, then a chandelier, and before we knew it the range had expanded to incorporate just about anything you can make from an antler.
The Parrys moved from London. They were shown a photograph of the Clock House and went to East Lothian and it was love at first. “We weren’t able to go inside the house, but could only walk round the garden and fields surrounding it. We decided to buy it and without having a survey or ever going inside the house – we put down a deposit. It was probably the craziest and best thing we’ve ever done. We now have a constantly full order book and a minimum 2-month delay on orders.
“Apart from one other company in Czechoslovakia, we make the largest and most diverse range of antler furniture of any company in Europe. It’s the ultimate renewable resource. No animal killing is involved in the production. All deer shed their antlers every year and grow new ones.”
Much antler furniture is faux and replicated resin. But Clockhouse’s natural “sheds” are collected from two estates. Says Nick Parry: “Antlers are bought by the weight so we usually get about 300kg at a time and get through about 1200kg a year, In old language, over a ton! They come from all over the Highlands. They litter Scotland. All we are doing is recycling litter!”
Nick was an apprentice picture framer and trained as an accountant. Redundancy brought re-location and a new career path. “We started with one joiner and one upholsterer. Stuart Brown, our first joiner, is still with us. We now employ sixteen.”
Former furniture restorer Jonathan Nicholson is the chief antler furniture maker. Says Priscilla: “He has the most extraordinary eye for picking shapes that work together and making this unusual raw material into incredibly beautiful bits of furniture, It takes huge skill and a three-dimensional sense which few people have.”
Clockhouse exhibits twice a year at the “Maison et Objet” trade show in Paris. Adds Priscilla: “That’s where the majority of the orders come from. We have developed a huge international market. Our main customers are French, Swiss & American, but we have also exported to Korea, Turkey, UAE, Taiwan, Azerbaijan, Philippines, and Indonesia – some extremely unlikely places for antler furniture. The boom time was 2007-8 when we had difficulty making enough to keep up with orders.”
Continues Nick: “For many years, we were based in a converted farm steading, but in November 2012 a long-planned purpose-built building was finally completed at Drem Airfield, Fentin Barns in East Lothian, twenty miles from Edinburgh. At last, everything was under the same roof which is both wind- and watertight – quite a novelty – and there is now space to expand production and take on larger commissions.”
Most of the Clock House employees have been with the company for many years. “Stuart is assisted by Ben, our apprentice, and they start the production process. Darren is our specialist finisher. Jarek, Gabi, and Richard are the upholsterers, Karol and Tomasz Swiatlowski who are Polish help Henry Arbiol who is from Catalonia. Not Spain!
“John in our packing department ensures everything is expertly packed in order to arrive safely with all our customers. The office is run by Moira – who has been with us for twenty-seven years – and rules all our lives!”
The company started by making large coffee table stools, footstools, and benches. Most designs can be made any size to order and Clock House are always happy to work with designers on one-off commissions. The collection has expanded over the years to include chairs, sofas, ottomans, fenders, and tables.
One of Clockhouse’s most unusual commissions was a 4-meter-high red-flocked antler Christmas tree which they made for the V&A Museum in London. They have sent antler chandeliers to the French Alps and Whistler, Canada. A 4m x 3m mirror went to Korea. They kitted out a complete whisky bar in Macao. “Our biggest orders come from the States,” says Nick. “We supply a couple of large stores -Bergdorf Goodman & Gorsuch.”
The Antler collection now encompasses just about everything that could be made from horn. Even curtain tie-backs. “Clockhouse Furniture” boasts the largest collection of antler furniture made in Europe. They also work with East African Ankole cattle horns.
Each piece is unique and individual. Antler furniture primarily sells to the mountains. Resorts like Megeve and Courchevel absolutely love it. It is also well anywhere there is a hunting tradition. We sell a lot covered in sheepskin/cowhide/deer skins – so the appeal is for ‘natural’. We made a huge sofa. A whopper which went to Holland. “
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McLean’s of Braemar in Royal Deeside made the two antler chandeliers in the Queen’s Box at the Braemar Games Park. They also make shoe horns and tableware including pate knives, butter knives, egg spoons, caddy spoons, and “sgian dubhs”. Their largest commission was a 6m high,1,2m wide chandeliers made from four hundred antlers.
In an old tollhouse at the foot of Ben Lawers on Loch Tay, near Aberfeldy John A. Lacey continues a family tradition and the same rural cottage craft industry. He is a master horn carver, using antlers to make a range of small objects from stag-handle steak knives to zip-pulls. In 1959, his father-in-law, Cameron Thomson, started selling horn products. John took over.
“Our aim is to stay true to his aim of the highest quality while developing more contemporary lines for today’s customer.”
Countryman, professional mole catcher, gardener, fencer, and school bus driver, fiddle-maker Cameron was born and brought up on a farm in Aberdeenshire and came to the Fearnan area via the Kindrogan estate at Kirkmichael, where he worked as a handyman and gardener. As a child, he was a compulsive whittler. His ram’s horn and hazel shepherd’s crooks were much sought after. He moved into horn buttons, egg and porridge spoons, shoehorns, buckles, lamps, crooks, and whistles. He also made fiddles.
Says John about today’s output: “Our design inspiration comes from the flora and fauna of our surroundings. An ancient natural material is given a contemporary twist in our workshops. Horn is non-toxic & biodegradable – it is a perfect material for today’s eco-conscious marketplace
“Cattle and ram’s horn and deer antler are our raw materials. Organic in their very nature, they are completely biodegradable. They are the most modern and old and most characterful of natural products.”
Priscilla Parry admits that she doesn’t have any antler furniture at home. “We did have some candlesticks. But then an order came in and we had to sacrifice them.”
