Alan Peters
Alan George Peters OBE (17 January 1933 – 11 October 2009) was a British furniture designer maker, and during his career was one of the few direct links with the 19th century Arts and Crafts Movement, having apprenticed to Edward Barnsley. Peters set up his own workshop in the 1960s, and has been described as "arguably Britain's foremost furniture maker".
Also recorded as Alan George Peters
Alan Peters
- Born
- Alan Peters was born on 17 January 1933.
- Died
- Alan Peters died on 11 October 2009.
- Nationality
- United Kingdom
- Occupation
- designer
- Honours
- Officer of the Order of the British Empire
- Languages
- English
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Alan George Peters OBE (17 January 1933 – 11 October 2009) was a British furniture designer maker, and during his career was one of the few direct links with the 19th century Arts and Crafts Movement, having apprenticed to Edward Barnsley. Peters set up his own workshop in the 1960s, and has been described as "arguably Britain's foremost furniture maker".
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wikidata · Q4707519 · wikipedia · Alan Peters
In this article
Biography
Biography
Peters was a main exponent of the 1970s British Craft Revival. His work was rooted in tradition and showed a deep understanding and respect for his material wood. He is known for his particularly elegant furniture work, such as an adzed, fan-like table and a tabletop with a bowl carved into it. Although his work was influenced by Japanese woodworking, he rejected Japanese tools after experimenting with them. He favoured the No. 7 plane – a particularly large and heavy one – for nearly everything. He published Cabinetmaking – A Professional Approach (re-published in 2009) and a revision (for the fourth edition) of Ernest Joyce's The Technique of Furniture Making. In 1990, Peters was awarded the OBE for his services to furniture, and in 2002 was given an Award of Distinction by the American Furniture Society. In 1998 Peters moved to Minehead in West Somerset. He died on 11 October 2009, aged 76.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1933
Alan Peters was born on 17 January 1933.
2009
Alan Peters died on 11 October 2009.
Legacy
In 2009 fellow furniture designer maker Jeremy Broun made a film and wrote a book called "Alan Peters – The Makers' Maker". Since 2010, the Alan Peters Award for Excellence has been run as an annual award, established by Jason Heap, a designer maker and director of The Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design exhibitions. The award is open to furniture makers under 30 years of age and was set up to continue Peters' legacy.
Primary material
Documents and archives
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q4707519: Alan Peters
General reference · Wikidata
reference work
- “Alan Peters”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Alan Peters. The Telegraph. 30 October 2009.
- 2.Alan Peters, furniture-maker, died on October 11th, aged 76. The Economist. 2009-11-07.
- 3.Alan Peters: furniture designer. The Times. 2009-10-24.
- 4.Alan Peters. economist.com. 2009-11-05.
- 5.Broun, Jeremy. Alan Peters obituary. The Guardian. 2009-10-28. 0261-3077.
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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