The Muncaster Chair

Reclaimed | Handmade | One-of-a-Kind

"I was once a gym bench in a 1920s American high school – solid maple, shaped by decades of sports lessons and school assemblies, over the years supporting thousands of feet and bums. Now I’m a dining chair – sturdy, grounded, and ready for more stories."

Each Muncaster Chair is handmade from reclaimed American maple, salvaged from 1920s gymnasium benches in Illinois. Maple’s fine grain and exceptional strength made it the go-to wood for heavy-duty furniture - and it still carries that quiet resilience today.

In some pieces, you’ll find subtle traces of other original materials: sections of red oak, birch, or white ash, once used to reinforce the benches. These show up as shifts in tone, texture or figure, natural reminders of the chair’s layered past.

Our master craftsman Florentin, and his team, build each chair by hand. All-wood, with a weighty presence and timeless silhouette; the Muncaster brings honesty and solidity to any space. Nothing added without purpose. Nothing taken away.

Florentin and his team have created just 85 Muncaster Chairs.

This is furniture that remembers where it came from - made to be used, and made to endure.

Please note: No two chairs are identical. Variations in grain, tone and finish are intentional and part of what makes each Muncaster Chair unique.