And then there were three....
Eday couple put three-seater Orkney chair on the market
By Ian Johnston
(from The Orcadian dated March 22, 2001)

An Orcadian three-piece suite.

An Eday-based Orkney chair manufacturer has created a unique new style of chair to fit alongside the traditional one-seater Orkney chair.

Geordie Garson of Backaland Caravan in Eday, recently created both a two and three-seater Orkney chair with the help of his wife Anna, who is a cook at the Eday School.

Although he now sells Orkney chairs, Mr Garson only began making them as a hobby to pass time after he was injured in a car accident ten years ago, forcing him to temporarily put on hold his career as a farm hand.

"I was in quite a bad car crash, and a friend said I should get into making Orkney chairs to build up my strength again and to pass the time rather than just sit around, so I did and I've been making them ever since," explained Mr Garson.

Mr and Mrs Garson make the chairs from straw grown from both black and white oats by Mrs Garson's brother, Ernest Miller, who also lives on Eday, and which they supply to most other Orkney chair manufacturers. The straw grown from these black and white oats is described by Mr Garson as the best possible straw used for making Orkney chairs.

"Black Oats create the best straw for making Orkney chairs, as the straw is thin and strong, which are two very important factors in making these chairs."

Mr and Mrs Garson have now been selling their Orkney chairs over the Internet for about two years, additionally selling extra hand-made creations such as model-size chairs, standing approximately 18 inches high, as well as child-size chairs, baskets and cubbies.

"Unfortunately there isn't much demand for the likes of the baskets and cubbies any more. We used to get a lot of people who thought the model-sized chairs looked nice as well, but the sales of them have also dropped a bit. I don't really understand why," said Mr Garson.

They have sold many of their hand-made items all around the world via the Internet to people in countries such as America and Germany, as well as regular purchasers in Ireland and the Channel Islands.

"The Internet is the best way of selling the chairs as they are so unique and attractive to people in countries all around the world, who see them as an essential creature comfort. They really are that popular."

"We have sold many hand-made products, not just chairs, to buyers in countries we never thought would show any interest in local hand-made furniture, but there are so many people all over the world who are simply smitten with our creations," said Mr Garson.

Stuart Rendall of South Schoolhouse, Eday, is a neighbour and friend of Geordie and Anna Garson. He takes care of advertising their products on the Internet, and had an influential part in creating the two-seater Orkney chair and the whole concept of the hand-crafted three-piece suite.

"I've always been a big fan of Orkney chairs and came up with the idea of creating a hand made three-piece suite, which Geordie and myself are hoping will appeal to a much wider market than single Orkney chairs," he said.

Mr Rendall, who works as an outreach co-ordinator at the island's school has a claim to fame as being the first person to purchase one of Mr Garson's unique creations.

"I made a little sketch of the two-seater chair and it actually looked better than I thought it would when Geordie finished making it, so I just snapped it up," said Mr Rendall.

Although there is no official website for Geordie and Anna Garson's Orkney chairs, they are available to buy via the Eday School's website at www.eday.org.uk, and Mr Rendall is currently in the process of advertising the two and three seater Orkney chairs on the site, as only the traditional single seater chairs are currently available to purchase over the Internet.

"I'm hoping to get the new chairs on the site soon so we can market them as a three-piece suite, as well as on their own, because I think they would be very popular, especially to people who already own a single seater and fancy owning the whole set," commented Mr Rendall.