Roorkee Chair

The Roorkee chair is the original collapsible camp chair. Named for a city in India colonized by the British, it belongs to the family of Campaign furniture - designed in the 1800s for military campaigns - to be portable, withstand the harsh tropical environment, and provide some comforts of home to British officers. I've had a fascination with campaign furniture for its durability and sleek design lines that make these enduring pieces of furniture. This interest was one of the reasons for jumping back into the deep end of woodworking and having not touched a lathe since the '80s, I knew that if I wanted to build Campaign furniture, I had to relearn.

In keeping with the true spirit of this style of furniture, the legs and wooden stretchers are mahogany, the leather is water buffalo, and it's finished off with traditional brass screws and buckles. Undo a few brass buckles, and this chair can be broken down and rolled into a relatively small package; as the legs are not permanently attached, they easily adjust to uneven terrain to make a surprisingly comfortable seat. This was a fun and challenging build, having to practice old skills, and as before this, I had never worked with leather.