Samuel Chan

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Samuel Chan was born in Hong Kong in 1964, and as a 15-year-old designed and made ‘Rocking Chair’ as a present for his mother. He graduated in 1984 from the London College of Furniture with an LCF award with credit. He went on to do a BA (Hons) degree in 3-D design at Middlesex University (1984-1987). One of Sam's earliest designs as a BA student, the Curve chair, was spotted by furniture historian Peter Fiell and shown in his Chelsea gallery. Samuel Chan has a Masters degree in Furniture Design from Buckinghamshire Chiltern University (1987-1988). Designs based on the 'hanging box' concept, first developed here, are still being commissioned. From 1989-1994 Samuel worked as an interior/furniture designer at EAA International. He got a thorough grounding in hotels by working on projects like the Inter-Continental and Marriott. Most importantly, he was responsible for furniture design for the Lanesborough on Hyde Park Corner, which at the time redefined the idea of a luxury hotel. Since 1995, he has run his own design company – Channels.

Samuel Chan’s furniture designs explore geometric and organic forms and reflect his signature purist style. Inherent in his approach is an ability to understand the ongoing potential of wood in new design. His work presents wood in a bold and simple way that requires no further embellishment. The designs demand the most exacting hand-finished craft while introducing new manufacturing processes – so giving this most traditional of materials a strong contemporary expression.

He first designed for Heal’s in 2007 when his Hume Revolving Bookcase was part of the Heal’s Discovers project. In 2009 Samuel Chan went on to be joint winner in the Homes and Gardens Furniture Awards for this design, a compact bookcase that swivels an entire 360 degrees. Unlike stationary bookshelves, where the contents can be stored on one side only, this book tower is a complex three-dimensional piece of furniture with storage for books and discs on all four sides. Samuel's aim was to bring what he describes as “the most traditional of rooms” – the private library – up to date.

For Heal’s Rediscovers Samuel Chan has created Samuel Chan Furniture available at Heal's.