How a local newsletter, a school in Lincolnshire, and a workshop in Mid Wales made something rather special.
Some of the chairs we make arrive with a story already attached. This is one of those.
Earlier this year, we received a message from Natalie Wallace, School Business Manager at Dunholme St Chad's Church of England Primary School in Lincoln. The school had been looking at our storytelling chairs — and they'd found the funding to make one happen. A local community publication, Dunholme News, had donated £1,000 to the school, and Natalie wanted to use every penny of it on something lasting. Something the children would remember.
She had one request beyond the chair itself: could we carve a dedication into it? Donated by: Dunholme News. A small thing to ask. A lovely thing to do.
From a Workshop in Wales to a Classroom in Lincolnshire
We carved the Dunholme chair from solid British oak — the same timber we've used for twenty years. The barn owl on the backrest is hand-carved in our workshop, each feather worked individually into the grain of the wood. No two owls are ever quite the same; the timber decides as much as the craftsman does.
The dedication — Donated by: Dunholme News — was carved into the front of the seat. Clean, quiet, permanent. The kind of thing a child might run their fingers over and ask about. The kind of thing that starts a conversation.
When Suzanne sent Natalie the completion photos, the reply came back almost immediately.
“OH WOW!! That looks amazing.”
That never gets old.
Why Storytelling Chairs Matter in Schools
A storytelling chair does something subtle but powerful in a classroom or library. It creates a dedicated space — a signal to children that what happens in that seat is important. When a teacher or a child sits in it to read aloud, the chair itself says: this is a moment worth paying attention to.
Schools tell us this again and again. The chair changes the dynamic of story time before a single word is spoken. Children sit up. They lean in. The reader has a kind of natural authority that a plastic chair simply doesn't give them.
Dunholme St Chad's now has something that will sit at the heart of their school for decades. The oak will weather and darken. The owl will watch over hundreds — eventually thousands — of stories. And carved quietly into the front, a small thank you to the community that made it possible.
Your School's Chair
If your school is thinking about a storytelling chair — whether you have funding already or you're still working out how to get there — we're always happy to talk it through. We work with school budgets, PTA fundraising, community grants, and donations of all sizes.
Every chair we make is bespoke. Different animals, different dedications, different sizes. If you can imagine it, we can usually carve it.
Get in touch to start the conversation →
The Owl Storytelling Chair is hand-carved in our workshop in Mid Wales from sustainably sourced British oak. Lead time is approximately 6–10 weeks. Free UK delivery included. View the Owl Storytelling Chair →
