Fitzwilliam Museum Cambridge

Our journey with the Fitzwilliam Museum project began in late September 2023 when Matt Schwab from All Things Studio London reached out through our website. All Things Studio specialises in creating exhibition designs and interpretations for cultural institutions across the UK and internationally, and they were in the midst of planning something special for Cambridge’s renowned Fitzwilliam Museum.

The brief was wonderfully specific yet challenging: they needed 10 wooden chairs in total—4 carver chairs with arms and 6 standard chairs—with the critical requirement that each piece should be a different style from the others. This sort of variety can often be difficult to source, but fortunately, we had every style they needed already in our inventory. After several detailed phone conversations and Matt’s multiple meetings with the museum staff to nail down the precise requirements, the project got the green light on 30th October with the final decision to paint all chairs in Miss Minton yellow from the Vintage with Grace furniture paint range.

With work beginning on 31st October and a tight deadline of 24th November for delivery, we faced a genuine time challenge. Adding to the pressure was the museum’s understandable concern about durability—these chairs would face daily use in a public discussion and learning area, making wear resistance an absolute priority.

To address their durability concerns, we developed a comprehensive finishing process. Each chair was thoroughly sanded down and meticulously cleaned with white spirit and a vinegar solution to eliminate even the tiniest dust particles that might compromise the finish. The preparation continued with a coat of primer to properly seal the wood, followed by an undercoat to ensure the vibrant yellow would pop beautifully. After the yellow paint application, we added three coats of a robust clear varnish for superior protection against the expected heavy use.

The stakes were particularly high with this project due to both the quantity of chairs and their institutional destination. Rather than trusting a courier with these carefully crafted pieces, we opted to handle the delivery personally, ensuring the chairs arrived at the Fitzwilliam Museum in perfect condition on 24th November 2023, exactly as promised.

The finished collection of chairs—each with its own distinct personality yet unified by their sunny yellow finish—created a welcoming, creative atmosphere in the museum’s public learning space while satisfying both the practical requirements of durability and the aesthetic vision of All Things Studio and the Fitzwilliam Museum team.