Against The Grain - Documentary Film About Furniture Maker Sebastian Cox

[@tintinsnowyful]

Lovely and thoughtful documentary. Thank you. I appreciate that Sebastian didn't really resolve his dilemma. I see from the comments that some felt he was selling out, others had differing interpretations. My feeling is...do both. Do design work for the Chinese factory as an additional income stream. Do custom and commissioned work that wealthy folks can afford. That way you can keep your lovely team of craftsmen & women employed and busy. I'm reminded of a Volvo advertisement from many years ago where they showed the Volvo ethos of small teams constructing a car from start to finish, instead of focusing on 'manufacturing categories'. I don't know if they still do that but it's nice to see the members of your team keeping that tradition alive.

[@mariapilarme]

I brought a copy of a French famous furniture maker of the 1600’s made by a cabinet maker in the 1960’s it’s a beautiful thing, every day I admire his craftsmanship. It has bronces outside. Furniture makers are fantastic artist. Turning nature in high art.

[@johnemmett2969]

So disappointing when one reads of negative comment, obviously a very blinked view. A most enjoyable and informative program. Brilliant determination of a one off mind….thank goodness for people everywhere like Sebastian. (And his wife of course).

[@davidcchambers]

Brilliantly conceiced and beautifully created. Thank you for sharing Sebastian's story here for the broadest of audiences to consume.

[@daniadejonghe4980]

by making things that are worth having not only for the immediate present buy for future generations... most 'stuff' is crap, no one will miss it when it is gone. Make something truly beautiful.

[@victoriabakersmith9647]

From rewilding, no dig, buy what you need, this is a sensitive relative conversation in 24. Now is the time to plant a tree, sow some seed or ask/snip a cutting. Wonderful film, thank you.

[@jraglob5924]

Excellent, I make things out of cast off wood. A lot from old pallet wood. I am always amazed at what I find when I mill the wood into a usable product. Often times stripping off the "finish" will reveal some real beauty in just the natural wood itself.

[@denisewascavage209]

Thank you! This question about how much more stuff do we need and our obsession with more and how do we sustain our planet is something that I struggle with everyday.

[@andrewwilde1807]

Just an hour of marketing bollocks 🤷‍♂️

[@MikeAG333]

Perhaps the shallowest, most vacuous, and most disappointing post I have seen on KZbin for days. And when you think of the sheer nonsense posted on KZbin every single second of the day, that really is saying something.

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

andrewwilde 1807 the range, dunelm, b&m will be your level.

[@wabio]

I've subscribed to just about every woodworking channel on KZbin. I just found yours. The production quality of you documentary is outstanding......like sitting in a movie theater.

[@kevbartley8458]

done for woodwork sustainablity what Clarkson has done for farming. Amazing.

[@davepowell7168]

🤣

[@GB-mu9ue]

Lmao nice back-handed compliment

[@souslesbombes]

The way he thinks about woodworking is radical. I say that in the best way possible.

[@thefinchworkshop]

Thoroughly enjoyed this and was inspired by the message. I'll look at my hobby in a different light now. More please.

[@MrSzwedowski]

Very well documented film. A lot to think about after watching it.

[@fionadrake7431]

Beautiful film, heart warming and so talented

[@paulsehstedt6275]

Wonderful cinematic photography and great storytelling.

[@jamesmacdonald5881]

Was really liking the ethos at the beginning but ended with a real hypocritical contradiction. Can’t blame him for taking the money and pride, creating a successful business, most would do the same. But can’t pretend that he’s kept to the original core beliefs outlined in the beginning.

[@akfisher7138]

'family owning woodland' tells you he is rather rich boy....hmmm an now cuts down other's woods, and runs a factory.

[@wilbertsabido6019]

hermoso documental, felicidades a la enorme creatividad del ched de la madera.. saludos desde mexico..

[@TheFiown]

'Sustainability' is also and for me above all in making things so well made and beautiful that they transcend fashion and time. I always buy second hand furniture because it is cheap, well made usually and has real function. I can't see anyone throwing out something well made and beautiful. In grand old homes there is usually a mix of periods because people didn't get rid of beautiful things, they just added to them. For me the last period of well made and well designed furniture is mid century, it fit's in with most styles and is usually really well made.

[@joellaycock2735]

Very inspirational in so many ways, thanks for sharing

[@rupertgale537]

Timeless elegance.

[@osirisfeliz2390]

So many concepts that resonate. Certainly gives me confidence to continue moving in paths that are in sync because it takes the collective to make real change. Peace.

[@TheMickeynatureamok]

This is what you call in Germany "Selbstbeweihräucherung" (self-congratulations with incense), the music of this movie and the slow motion of the wood chips give the rest!

[@catakyar]

Just a lot of company PR and green washing. Most insidious way of entertaining. Beautifully put together marketing ploy. What's not to love...especially the bit at 55:00 talking about sustainable mass production loool

[@papatinpan]

Dude's a hack. His guilt for participating in a craft he "enjoys", is the reason for all this pretense. Roy Underhill, was the first famous Woodworker to promote conservation, reclaimed wood, planting farms in conjunction with sustainable farming. But he was the voice of many woodworkers & craftsman who felt the same way. Honestly Mr. Cox work is pedestrian by many craftsman standard, & there are plenty of amazing craftsman doing amazing work, who hold his views, which he appropriated. His marketing of playing on heart strings of environmentalists & the fine art institution has served him well.

[@daniadejonghe4980]

@@papatinpan mean and jealous. how do you know your assumptions about his motivations have any basis in fact? It doesn’t really matter who pays for his furniture. It matters how he takes care of the land, how he does his work and how he provides work for others.

[@papatinpan]

@@daniadejonghe4980 Mean? No just don't suffer fools & charlatan Craftsmen. Jealous? HAHAHAHA! Hardly, I've been doing antique restoration/sign work & fabrication over 20years along with communities on wood conservation & urban fauna. I couldn't be happier

[@ForgeAheadwithMike]

Great documentary. I agree - we just have to make things that are less harmful to earth.

[@anoshya]

Fascinating documentary ..thanks

[@bertanimation7436]

sensational. Making notes the whole way through

[@tomstopper5281]

IKEA is not being honest about their sustainability. You better get better informed about how they are using subcontractors that are destroying woodland in Romania.

[@gedreillyhomestead6926]

Sebastian's philosophy and furniture reminds me of the work of Tim Stead a great Artist Woodworker. 👍

[@akfisher7138]

Tim Stead did not get his work made abroad and shipped back to UK to make a bigger profit. The whole film is just justification for making more profit by outsourcing. The film is beautifully made, The furniture on the other hand is just a big contradiction. Diesel ships are not clean.

[@dunk101parkls]

​@@akfisher7138that was one part of the film. Sebs ethos is sustainable, it was made that made the china mass production products not Seb . He was the designer not the maker.

[@johncamp7679]

She made the right call not having an undercut on the carved table. It appeared “light” by the carving. My opinion.

[@amyschneidhorst1384]

There is no perfect solution but the art is in creatively pursuing alternative paths, drawing on the past within the limitations and potential of our current systems. If you want perfection and purity, then either we have to return to artists having private patrons or upending the capitalist system.

[@smukherje169]

Fabulous

[@threestarfancywoodworks1902]

Very nice ❤

[@b.scarpia7159]

Rather than destroying your ethos surely it would be better to market to the Proles a $200 kit of saw, chisels, jack plane , sharpening stone, and directions to Burnham Wood.

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

A copy of Rob Cosmos you mean!

[@davepowell7168]

Milling with windpower ?

[@carsonforrester3061]

Build something nice. The facts of life are some people are able to buy expensive pieces . I am not one of them but that’s just the facts. Not everyone can have high end expensive furniture and that’s ok

[@PDogB]

Please rethink your use of American Ash wood. We are losing these trees rapidly due to the ash borer insects.

[@ericsmith8121]

Quite a few places are cutting good ash trees at the first sign of ash borer, or even before, in an attempt to slow the spread, so there's quite a bit of it available that might otherwise just be burned or ground up into compost.

[@UdellYoutube]

Sensational, nevertheless thank you for the awareness.

[@josenandorossipr]

bravo

[@lxduc]

Everything very romantic and wright, but the prices on the website of this kind gentleman are not in order with the philosophy, we must remind us that they where craftsman not business men

[@Chen-gl9hm]

Nice marketing trick.....

[@MH-qy5hh]

Loved most of this story, really admire the artistry and ethos. But… you sold out, shame.

[@ukosawpancerny9580]

😍😍😍

[@johncamp7679]

I don’t mind paying for quality, I do mind paying for status.

[@David-q8g4n]

Great until principles went out of the window. Completely undermined the story and the brand values. Re-think. Seriously.

[@jimmyburn1059]

should have gone with the undercut

[@АлександрСтепанов-ч2ю]

Фильм был бы не плохой , если бы в нём не было столько пафоса и пазёрства. Скромнее, скромнее.

[@boooshes]

When you focus on sustainability and hand craftsmanship your products are expensive, your customers are wealthy and they actually need nothing that they buy. You are making trinkets for the rich which then is a waste of resources. When you determine a means of producing a widely affordable product, it will be purchased, used, and thrown away by the middle class because it doesn't have enough value to pass from generation to generation. The only answer to sustainable products is to hand make high quality products and sell them affordably and accept your own poverty as a maker.

[@matt818]

Seems like the conclusion of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[@joshjenkinson1929]

As a woodworker, my aim is to enjoy the worthwhile endeavour of creating quality long lasting pieces without getting too much into environmental cork sniffing. Do the best you can whilst realising we are all consumers and users of materials and don’t get too obsessed or pretentious about it!

[@joshjenkinson1929]

A good answer for true sustainability would be to make woodwork compulsory in schools and encourage people to be more self sufficient and to craft what they need for themselves, rather than relying on corporations. Hand built furniture would last for generations and the need for places like IKEA would be a lot less.

[@esterhudson5104]

I’ll pass.

[@matt818]

The answer is a multifaceted approach that aims to rewire the consumer understanding of reality in a complex capitalist consumerist society. The entire framework of this system is often hidden and needs further exposure through gradual, transparent education by makers. 'Affordability' is misunderstood when the true nature of mass produced products compromises durability. The maker must encourage the shift in thinking from short-term savings to long-term value. Also, the idea of 'accepting your own poverty as a maker' is redundant because to do so would be... unsustainable.

[@Jehrichify]

Well, I think there is a contradiction in selling sustainable but highly expensive funiture to rich people who distroy the world with their way of living or businesses. Am I wrong?

[@untokyo]

Who is this guy?

[@liutasuk]

Can you just make furniture without promoting marx ideology.

[@bertus-janmeijer5221]

Not buying or even making new furniture is the sustainable thing to do here. Buy an old piece in a thriftstore, save it from a skip, and admire the non-ikea quality that easily lasts another generation, if you can handle its uglyness....uh see its beauty I mean....

[@rollinrock6696]

Ra ra ra

[@andrewgaul]

This is like a coming of age tale of a young idealist, growing up and realising that the world is more complex than can be described by one philosophical idea. A very well made advertisement for this privileged guys furniture company. No matter how he tries to convince himself, he is trying to get rich off the backs of underprivileged Chinese workers. It was a great film until we find out at the end that the main dude is a massive hypocrite.

[@Geraldbux0401]

He's got that Prince Harry vibe going... doesn't he!

[@Michael-mr3rv]

Sorry I should have spelt aggrandizing correctly, PS as for the notion that this video "Discover(s) the life of one of the great innovators of craft" ..... I am speechless. Well nearly. Look on KZbin and you will find countless numbers of unpretentious artisans who fit the billing better.

[@bubuche1886]

greenwashing

[@kullerko]

21:16 Drawers opening not smooth at all and you using it for display.

[@bluevabank]

Bs

[@dougmcdonald300]

Does he pay for the coppiced wood from the forestry commision? Good to use other peoples land and wood instead of your own, ha ha

[@brendanrobinson6860]

Mmm. a marketing video? Selling out for money and pretending to be noble. I am not convinced; but yes, the video, like the original furniture is beautiful and well made. But then again so is deception.

[@ianforeman4377]

Cops. Not copis

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

Its not cops - its copse, a small group of trees. Its not copis - its coppice, a pruning technique where a tree or shrub is cut to ground level, resulting in regeneration of new stems from the base thats left. So as he said, he is using coppiced timber. In other words timber that is regenerated.

[@Dirhfifkshdi]

Lovely documentary. Absolutely shit furniture

[@georgecavanaugh8757]

Get off of it already. You can’t have a damn furniture documentary without the tree hugging talk.

[@stevedemartini9411]

Sustainability is non-sense.

[@Michael-mr3rv]

Pretentious and self-agrandiandising! I commenced watching this video expecting it would demonstrate something new or extraordinary relating to woodworking craft. Indeed 20 minutes in I determined to look at the website only to be truly disappointed (see for example the "Woodwose' range - Habitat of years ago, Heals today)

[@jpgregor]

Probably the best 59 minutes and 12 seconds I spent on KZbin in a long time.

[@MH-qy5hh]

Loved most of this story, really admire the artistry and ethos. But… you sold out, shame.

[@laius6047]

Its annoying that carpenter/furniture maker is treaded as someone so special. Guys we only make stuff from wood. Calm down

[@MrZOMBIE170]

23:40 most workshops work that way nothing particularly special about that

[@duggaboy]

I always like to listen to someone talk themselves into compromise...i mean justification.

[@daniadejonghe4980]

@@duggaboy ahhhh I see you have lived a spotless, compromise free life. Well done!

[@mightymcduff2056]

Furniture making has gone so far up it's own arse, it's painful to watch.

[@VitalityMassage]

36:14 He's worrying about "high spots" while people are starving someplace far off or even right there in the UK.

[@wabio]

10:28 Interesting fact. William Morris' designs are still widely prevalent today. The Morris chair has become synonymous with craftsmanship, functionality, and aesthetics. In fact, I'm sitting on one right now. It's become such an adopted design that it now goes by many other names. Mission chair, Craftsman chair, Amish chair, etc.

[@timeisahumanconstruct9251]

bro, not everything has to be available for the masses...we want scarce luxury!

[@sjc1963]

I like what your doing, not so sure about mass production . don't think William Morris would like that . Have you ever looked at all the wood that is taken to the dump .

[@ericchenard8636]

Wow! Amazing furniture! Congratulations on your efforts it is truly inspirational!! Thank you for doing your part in saving the planet.

[@davepage6428]

Lovely video but twaddle. What he should really do that would benefit the planet is take all his copied wood and turn it into biochar which can then benefit the soil. An example of someone really making a difference is the musician Andy Cato whom is one half of Groove Armada whom decided to get involved with regenerative agriculture.

[@ohcnap90]

what a fine video, thats all I save to say. Your work is unbelievable in a not not common way.

[@MartinClimbs]

wonderful film, wonderful ppl

[@rihanwoodworks7123]

Beautiful work! Beautiful film!

[@soniawoolley366]

What a great story ...

[@dominiccon8967]

thank you for the great and inspiring film! at the end a briquette machine is briefly mentioned. which machine is it and are you satisfied with it? thank you in advance ;)

[@surferninjakowabunga]

Also very interested in this as well and it was just glanced over.

[@MagniJoensen]

does Sebastian take in apprentices?

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

I think thats what the 5 young people there are! (Take on apprentices, not take in.)

[@alanmatthews9260]

Would love to see a tutorial on that cabinet door panel weave!

[@andrewpiper2880]

I think a lot of these comments are tinged by the green monster..quite mean spirited, by keyboard warriors. Quality lasts through the generations...who said it had to be cheap..? Great movie...well done I say.

[@erichaskell]

Sustainability is great, making a lot of money is great. Do not mass produce, do not sell out, the common man can buy Chinese goods.

[@jacobhicks7959]

This is so much simpler than folks make it. Governments around the world can control how much wood moves with import and export tariffs. If you want to reduce the landfill foder make it more economical to buy well built stuff that wears well and keep it.

[@MrChrisWick]

As a hobby woodworker who moved from SE London to NZ, I have found that video very interesting. I might have to go visit next time I am back in the UK

[@rossanctuary5238]

Hello, are you hiring. You can throw me into the deep end also.. 😅

[@1qazandrew333]

Thank you. An insightful film into a very interesting maker.

[@ianforeman4377]

This renews my faith in people

[@johnparr5879]

In truth the docmentery is... With the grain.... Almost touching the sacredness, that truly in a mundane world.... Brings into true focus.... In.... simply being..... Human *

[@ChickenDinnerz]

Thank you for making this film. Seb was an inspiration to me before. Now even more so!

[@васядядя-л8ч]

[@unknownboulder1205]

besides being a reasonable good craftsman, he is a brilliant demagogue :))

[@gbwildlifeuk8269]

And youre neither!

[@unknownboulder1205]

and you can't spell " you're" @@gbwildlifeuk8269