Grown on our Skye croft and inspired by Scotland’s architectural and craft heritage, and its dramatic landscapes, we introduce our new design brand—Forstaris.
Using traditional techniques and the finest materials, we create modern furniture and lighting with a sense of place.
We designed and prototyped the Thorter tables, our inaugural pieces of furniture, at our workshop in the Isle of Skye, in Scotland's Inner Hebrides.
Makers ourselves, we work closely with skilled craftspeople to create
modern heirlooms. The tables are handmade to order by a master cabinet
maker in a small family-run workshop in Highland Perthshire.
Thorter, Scots: to do something in a criss-cross fashion
The wattle work on a 19th century barn—typical of Lochalsh in the Scottish Highlands—inspired the table.
The apron is handwoven from thin timber strips; the solid timber top has a rounded edge and an angled underside.
We make two sizes of table: a low coffee table and a taller side table.
We moved to the Isle of Skye in 2011. Over three years, and using traditional materials and techniques as much as possible, we restored and rebuilt the blackhouse and croft house on Mint Croft. Most of the renovation work we did ourselves; we are fortunate to have the skills that brought these traditional Hebridean buildings back from the brink.
As new crofters, with advice from our neighbours, we slowly returned
the croft land to its working state to provide pasture for our flock of
native Hebridean sheep.
Crofting is traditional, small-scale farming, unique to the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Following generations who worked this land, we wear many hats: Ali is a crofter, a product designer and a cabinet maker; Shaz is a crofter (and the local grazings clerk), an artist/designer and a passionate home cook.
Our attention to detail and ethos, which led our careful approach to
restoring and furnishing the croft buildings, is now driving the design
and manufacture of our own collections of furniture and lighting.
