It was simple furniture, you see, and we were makers of it.

In 1931, the English designer Gerald Summers (1899–1967) and his partner Marjorie Butcher (1909–1996) opened their business, Makers of Simple Furniture, in London. For almost a decade, the firm produced an impressive repertoire of designs in plywood, whose simplicity, utility, and beauty helped define the modern interior in Britain. Based on Marjorie’s vivid recollections and a wealth of unpublished material—including photographs, correspondence, workshop documents, and design specification sheets—this book provides the first in-depth look at the achievements of the furniture firm best known for the iconic one-piece bent plywood armchair.

The publication was supported in part by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.