Nessa Doran O'Reilly
Nessa Doran O Reilly & Sam Hutchings - Furniture
Magpies.
Nessa is a designer/maker with over ten years' experience. She
received her BA degree in Furniture Design and Technology in Dublin
and two Master degrees in BNU High Wycombe in both Furniture Design
and Conservation Restoration of Furniture and Decorative
Arts.
Sam is a cabinet maker designer and restorer working in the
industry for over twelve years. He completed his City and Guilds
Bench Joinery in Bristol before going on to complete his BA degree
in Furniture Conservation and Restoration at BNU High Wycombe.
Nessa and Sam run Furniture Magpies a furniture upcycling
company that specialises in redesigning unwanted furniture into
pieces that can be loved all over again. They have run upcycling
workshops and courses with craftspace , Think Space, BNU , West
Dean and from their own studio. Magpies work has been exhibited at
London Design Festival, Milan Furniture fair, Anthropology New
York, Singapore and the Olympic village London.
Nessa is also a presenter and upcycling expert on Chanel 4's Goks
Fill Your House For Free and Phil Spencer's Perfect Home.
Describe your approach to teaching.
Our teaching approach is very hands on letting people get stuck in
and seeing what works best for them. As each piece and component is
unique so is our approach to each project. We want our students to
feel relaxed and have fun.
What inspires your work?
Our work is completely inspired by the furniture we work with and
our end goal of creating a functional beautiful piece of furniture
from something unwanted.
