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Middle Earth Furniture. The name will instantly get the attention of thousands of Lord of the Rings fans all over the world. Fans of Peter Jackson's adaptation of the popular novel by J. R. R. Tolkien will get starry eyed by the thought of rooms in Rohan or Elven decor! And as a fan of both the book and the films, I wanted to find out more about this English company, and was able to get a mail interview with the founders, Jon Broberg and Ross Howard. Here is our interview with the creators of this unique furniture, and we would like to thank both Jon and Ross for taking the time to answer all of my questions.
What was your starting
point for this concept?
Jon: Ross and I
had a vision of creating a range of finest quality handcrafted oak furniture.
We wanted it to have a unique appeal, ancient but yet fresh, something no
one had done before. Both of us being long time Tolkien fans, we combined
Ross' experience in bespoke joinery, his highly skilled craftsmen and my own
experience with creative design to make this happen.
Ross: Peter Jackson's movies have an enormous amount of references, and choosing
to work with a combination of Tolkien's strong visual style of writing and
the films was an easy choice for us.
Seemingly you have
both been Tolkien fans for years! When did you have your first encounter with
Tolkien's work?
Ross: When I was
a lad I was given the children's book "Mr. Bliss", in which the
main character goes on adventures in his motorcar, with several friends. I
also remember a strange creature form this book called a girabbit! I think
I was 12 when I read "The Hobbit", and "The Lord of the Rings"
followed when I was 13.
Jon: My dad gave me "The Hobbit" when I was 7. I didn't read
it at that point, but I was very enchanted with the cover picture of the golden
dragon Smaug, and of the line drawing maps inside the book. It stayed at my
bedside because I enjoyed looking at these images, and a couple of years later
I read it and enjoyed the adventure very much!
You have set up shop
in Staffordshire, where actually J. R. R. Tolkien spent a great deal of time
early in his life.
Jon: Yes, it's
actually just a few miles from the village of Great Haywood where he received
his military training and, after engaging in battle on French soil during
the summer an fall of 1916, returned to England to convalesce from trench
fever. This is where he wrote the first part of his mythology for England.
Also both Ross and I were educated in Staffordshire schools, so there is some
history here!
You have been in contact
with New Line Cinema… tell me a little about that!
Ross: When we decided
to go ahead with our plans, I approached New Line in America, and they were
utterly enthusiastic about the project. We then teamed up with serial entrepreneur
Mike Washburn, and with his expertise we gained the status of official Lord
of the Rings Merchandise and worldwide licence for Middle Earth Furniture!
So this means your
products are available to fans all over the planet?
Ross: Yes it does!
We deliver to all countries, and the furniture is insured right to the customer's
doorstep! The smallest items are assembled, but we have contact with craftsmen
in other countries who are able to install the furniture if some find the
assembly of the larger pieces too daunting.
Your furniture is all
handmade from solid oak, but what surface treatment do you give them?
Jon: We hand wax
them after giving them an aged appearance. We currently have two standard
colours, Rivendell which is a light natural oak, and Gondor, a darker colour
which we have used on all the items on our website. We are also currently
developing our own line of polishes, which will be specially adapted to the
furniture, and these will soon be available for purchase. All furniture comes
with a numbered certificate of authenticity, and a customers care guide detailing
how to look after the products.
Your current items
are the "Rohan and Gondor Coffee Table", the "Keep it Secret
Chest", the "Darkness and Light" chair, the "The One Ring"
round table and the "Ancient Ent" round table. What is your next
design project?
Jon: The possibilities
for extending the range are almost endless, and I'm very excited about designing
new pieces! We already have different chests and coffee tables on proto-type
stages, and hope to have them available before the end of the year. I also
have some ideas for a carved mirror, but that has only entered sketch stages.
Ross: The Elven style interests us a lot! We would welcome any suggestions
from Lord of the Rings fans on what they would like to see next from Middle
Earth Furniture.
How about extending
the range with other type of interior products, wallpapers, textiles and such?
Jon: Oh this is
something that really interests us, and the better our furniture is known
the more we hope this becomes an option! Our furniture is very high quality
and we would like to carry that through and be able to offer a complete Lord
of the Rings interior design.
How about customized
items, how do you feel about that?
Jon: We welcome
all enquiries from customers who would like a customized version of our furniture!
We can for example make personal inscriptions or carvings. I would be only
happy to offer bespoke designs although the productions costs of an individual
piece may vary from our standard range.
What are you working
on right now?
Jon: We are actually
taking out furniture across the pond to America to display at the worlds largest
furniture show, at High Point in North Carolina! The show is at Hamilton Market
from the 22nd to the 28th of April, and we will have our stand at showroom
210.
Ross: If any fans or collectors want to visit us they can contact us
via email at for details.
So what remains to say then is head over to Middle Earth Furtniture, and let the images of these beautiful items take you back to Middle Earth! Thanks again to both Jon and Ross for this interview!
For War of the Ring,
Cuiel Rilwen.
Got a comment on what you've read? Then post a message below, if you have a question or want to discuss in more detail then head over to the WotR Community Forum.
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