The Workshop

Made by Peter, in South Shields.

Peter Stuart has been working with wood since he was a boy. His dad taught him.

He spent years doing joinery work. Kitchens, fitted furniture, that sort of work. Eventually he wanted to make something he could put his name on.

So he built a workshop in South Shields and started making beds.

Just beds, at first. One at a time, by hand. Solid wood, real joints, no MDF, no chipboard, no flat-pack. The way furniture used to be made and, in his view, still should be.

That's still how every bed on this site is made.

Why beds

A bed is the one piece of furniture you actually use every day. You sleep on it for a third of your life. If anything in the house deserves to be made properly, it's the bed.

Most beds sold today are flat-pack. They're held together with cam locks, dowels, and plastic fittings. They wobble after a year or two, the joints loosen, and eventually they end up at the tip.

A bed made the way we make ours doesn't do that. The joints in the frame are the same joints carpenters have used for a thousand years (mortise and tenon, cut by hand, glued and pegged). The same joinery is in the roof above your head and in churches still standing after five hundred years.

It's a bed that will last a lifetime.

How we work

Peter makes one bed at a time. When you order, he starts on yours: pulling the timber, marking it out, cutting the joints, finishing it by hand.

The build takes a few days. The finish takes longer to cure properly, and we don't rush it.

The wood comes from suppliers Peter has used for years [CONFIRM]. Solid pine for the Hauxley, solid oak for the Harbottle, character oak with figured grain for the Derwent. Every piece is selected before it's cut.

We finish every bed with hard wax oil. It's natural, food-safe, and breathable. Wood stays alive under it, breathing and ageing properly, instead of being sealed under plastic.

You pick the colour. Natural to show the wood as it is, mid for a warmer honey tone, or dark for a deeper finish. The wood deepens slightly with age in any of them.

Where we are

Our workshop is in South Shields and isn't open to visitors. But you can call or email any time, and we'll happily send more photos, samples, or answer any question about a bed.

Alex handles enquiries, orders, and delivery. Peter's in the workshop. If you want to speak to Peter directly about a custom piece, Alex will arrange it.