par-avion co.

par-avion co. is a design partnership consisting of Simon and Monica Cass and is based in Norfolk, England. With backgrounds in architecture and furniture making, the pair aim to design and produce high quality objects that reflect their love of Mid-Century and Scandinavian design as well as Japanese and British craft skills. Their designs mix traditional craft and modern styling resulting in contemporary products that still fit in with traditional settings.

par-avion co. uses British-sourced, natural or environmentally-friendly materials. Every pi stool is made with FSC British timber sourced less than 100 miles from the par-avion co. workshop. British oak is the primary wood used and the only variations on this are typically limited edition runs based on a specific tree with a unique story, such as the characterful spalted sycamore slats from the local timber yard or 5000 year old bog oak from the nearby Cambridgeshire Fens. Any colouring to the oak is achieved through natural processes: the oak is exposed to ammonia vapours inside a sealed chamber to cause a reaction with the naturally occurring tannins to create the ‘fumed oak’ finish. The wood finish is OsmoOilTM, a natural oil and wax clear finish. The seat materials are either natural or biodegradable materials. The Danish cord is a 3-ply undyed, twisted paper cord that is completely recyclable. The ‘skeined willow’ is split and stripped by par-avion co. using white willow harvested once per year in Somerset, UK. This process is recognised by the Heritage Craft Association as an endangered craft in the United Kingdom as it has largely been replaced by split cane/rattan, which comes from the Far East. The rush for the lambda daybed is locally harvested in the River Ouze in Suffolk and woven into mats using traditional plaiting techniques by Waveney Rush.

par-avion co. is dedicated to preserving the environment and are constantly assessing new ways in which to lessen our eco footprint. We use natural and renewable materials which are carefully and locally sourced and our makers from each region are selected on the basis of the quality of their production and their environmental credentials. Our packaging is 100% recyclable, reusable or biodegradable. A portion of our overall annual earnings is donated to the charity Room to Read which supports education equality around the world.

We are constantly looking to decrease our waste streams towards a zero-waste or circular economy production cycle. We hope to increase the size of our workshop to allow space for more creative output and offer apprenticeships to at least 2-3 more workshop assistants and weavers. We hope with free in-house training we can help keep heritage industries such as seat weaving, willow skein making and hand woodworking alive in the UK for many years to come.