The Maker’s Maker – Alan Peters OBE

7th April 2026

It is a privilege to offer a collection from the estate of British furniture designer and maker Alan Peters (1933–2009), widely regarded as a leading figure among a generation of designer-makers in the 1970s and 1980s, in our Design sale on 15th April 2026. 

Peters began his career with a seven-year apprenticeship under Edward Barnsley, establishing a direct link to the Arts and Crafts traditions of Sidney Barnsley and Ernest Gimson. While firmly grounded in these traditional techniques, he was never constrained by them. His love of nature developed during childhood, cycling through the country lanes of Hampshire with his father, and he established his first home workshop at just 12 years old. After leaving the Barnsley workshop in 1955, Peters undertook teacher training at Shoreditch College in Egham, Surrey, before going on to win a scholarship to the Central School of Arts and Crafts.

A pivotal trip to Japan and South Korea in the 1970s, supported by a Crafts Council bursary, transformed his design language. He became one of the first Western makers to successfully fuse the Cotswold School ethos with the understated purity of Far Eastern woodworking. The result was furniture that is structurally honest, visually light, and deeply respectful of the natural grain of the timber.

Over a career spanning 50 years, Peters received the highest accolades in his field, including an OBE in 1990 for services to British furniture making and design and the Award of Distinction from the American Furniture Society in 2002. His book Cabinetmaking: The Professional Approach (1984) remains an essential reference and in 2009 fellow furniture designer-maker Jeremy Broun produced both a film and a book titled, 'Alan Peters, The Maker’s Maker'.

The lots offered in the upcoming Design sale on Wednesday 15 April (Lots 437–450) comprise the remaining contents of his studio. These include commissioned works that were never sold, design prototypes retained at his workshop, and pieces collected from fellow artists and makers. Highlights include works by friends such as Hugh Birkett, as well as pieces by makers he admired, including Peter Collingwood.

Head of Design, Max Fisher said; “I’m delighted to offer works from the estate of Alan Peters. The collection represents a chance to acquire works, previously unseen, that have been kept in Alan’s workshop and home for many years.”

Peters’ work is held in permanent collections worldwide, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Crafts Study Centre.