28/08/2026
A project from the Lethenty archives this week.
Back in the early years of Lethenty Cabinetmakers (2008) we had the great good fortune to meet with Robin & Pauline, a lovely elderly couple living in a beautiful house near Aberdeen. They had made the decision to leave their home of the past fifty years to move to a new build house near Forres. They initially asked us to design and build them a new Oak kitchen but the commission rapidly expanded to include furniture for several different rooms. I remember we made them bathroom cabinets, utility storage cupboards, a screened porch, bookcases and a fabulous four post bed with a curved roof. What I most remember though, is Pauline and Robin themselves - such a lovely couple with open minds and open hearts. Pauline was a creative force of nature - a talented wood engraver, calligrapher and artist. She learned her craft at the Slade School of Art in the 1950s. I remember we worked together on a carved inscription on the headboard of their bed - "Come Sweet Slumber, enshroud me in thy Purple Cloak." Pauline drew out the lettering and I carved it out of a piece of Aberdeenshire Oak. Don't look too closely - I'm not an expert letter carver but all the same, this was such a joyous collaboration.
The last picture shows one of Pauline's original woodblocks - it's fascinating to see how she has engraved the reverse of the image in such fine detail.