Surrey-based furniture maker chosen to make Coronation chairs
Alex Pitts was just one of six people selected to make the 10 special congregation chairs.
A furniture maker from Surrey was one of just six people chosen to make 10 special congregation chairs for the Coronation.
Alex Pitts, who lives in Horley and runs his own business called APITTSFurniture, was invited by the Prince's Foundation.
The chairs were made out of British oak, upholstered with blue velvet embroidered with the cyphers of the King and Queen.
Alex has a workshop in Edenbridge, near the Surrey border, where he also teaches courses that help people learn about traditional furniture making techniques.
Alex explained how he applied:
"For the Coronation event we wanted to make sure that we were using fitting and appropriate materials."
"I attended the Linley Summer School, which is now called the Snowdon School of Furniture. I learned with some of the best cabinet makers in the country.
"Upon doing that, it put me in a list of people that could be chosen. I applied and as I run my own business, they were keen to choose someone who could then take their career on further.
Alex also outlined how the chairs were made.
"The chairs that we were making used traditional techniques... so the chairs are very well-made, made of British Oak which is quite enjoyable to use. Very good material, and also quite nostalgic.
"For the Coronation event we wanted to make sure that we were using fitting and appropriate materials."
"Traditional joinery, and a lot of handwork - we were using machinery that was around one hundred years ago, so we're not using state-of-the-art machinery, robots that do everything for us.
"We're using machinery that our forefathers would have used. You're using chisels and hand planes, things like that, to refine the joints and get everything fitting together snuggly and to ensure a strong chair."