'We mould trees to grow into the shape of chairs'

A couple have spent the past 20 years experimenting to perfect the practice of moulding trees so they grow into the shape of a chair.

Alice and Gavin Munro grow their creations upside down, in a process that they say typically takes between six and nine years, before each item is dried for a year.

The process involves training and pruning young tree branches as they grow over specially-made pieces of recycled plastic which help to shape the trees' growth.

Branches are then grafted together at certain points, so that the object grows into one solid piece.

Gavin said the first seed for the project was sown when he was a young boy and saw an overgrown bonsai tree that he thought looked like a chair.

The idea grew when Gavin was in and out of hospital with Klippel-Feil syndrome - a rare congenital condition characterised by the abnormal fusion of two or more neck vertebrae.

He underwent several operations to straighten his spine during his youth, when he said he had time to "reflect and learn patience".

"It was only after doing this project for a few years, a friend pointed out that I must know exactly what it's like to be shaped and grafted on a similar timescale," Gavin said.

After leaving Chesterfield College, Gavin had a period of making furniture in California in the US by stitching driftwood together, which he said was what showed him he could grow trees into useful shapes.

He and Alice then set up Full Grown in Derbyshire back in 2006.

They met when they were 17 and remained friends for a long time. After the pair had stints abroad, they became a couple and set out on their journey together.

Gavin, who has a background in furniture creation, is described on the business's website as the designer behind the project, while Alice is listed as the communications director.

The pair admit they "didn't know what they let themselves in for" and it has taken decades to properly learn the craft.

"We're 20 years into what might be a 50 or 100-year journey," said Gavin, 50.

"At the beginning I thought there would be a two or three-year learning cycle, but it's more like 12 or 13 years."

Gavin added the company was "a direct result of trying to think, what is the most subtle interaction we can have with the world in order to create useful, beautiful objects?"

After starting out in 2006, the first generation of chairs, lamps and experiments began in 2012 - after a lot of trial, error and most importantly of all, patience.

The couple, who work with a range of trees including willow, oak and ash, said there were currently "a few dozen" growing pieces in their orchard, including stools, benches and "the odd chandelier" in progress.

The couple are hoping to launch a programme, Full Grown Academy, in the near future to help people grow their own chairs.

They said this would see them share the knowledge they have gained so far.

"Hopefully in the next few weeks, we're developing a kind of academy where we can help other people," he said.

"Lots of people have been wanting to do this in their own gardens, or in museums and things, so that's our next level."

A bronze cast of one of their chairs will appear at this month's RHS Chelsea Flower Show as part of a garden collated by Plant Heritage, a conservation charity for cultivated plants.

Alice, 51, said: "We're really, really excited about the Chelsea Flower Show. We've been thinking about it for years but never thought we'd be able to meet the requirements.

"It's a bit of a dream come true, really - it's as big as it gets."

Gwen Hines, the charity's CEO, said: "We're huge fans of Alice and Gavin's stunning chairs at Plant Heritage, so the opportunity to have a bronze cast of one of their creations on the garden is really exciting.

"The patience and skill it has taken to grow and shape this chair over many years is incredible, and mirrors the commitment of our National Collection holders to taking care of the plants in their collections.

"I can't wait to see it in situ at Chelsea."

Some of Full Grown's chairs were featured in a Louis Vuitton display in 2022, while others have been purchased by Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Additionally, some are on permanent display at the National Museum of Scotland, Rotterdam's Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen and the Manchester Metropolitan University Special Collection.

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