The Story

The Channels story begins with Samuel Chan’s love of woodworking as a schoolboy. Born in Hong Kong and educated in Britain, he spent seven years training to be a furniture designer in London, Middlesex and Buckinghamshire Universities. After completing his Masters degree, he worked initially in hotel design.

In 1995 Samuel set up Channels with a studio-showroom in London and a workshop in Shropshire, thus signalling his intent to keep the entire ‘design-make-sell’ process in-house. His aim from the beginning was to establish Channels as a furniture brand known for clean, contemporary design and excellent craftsmanship. This continues to be his motivation, and to date Samuel’s work has been recognized with twelve Design Guild Marks.

Samuel was named Furniture Designer of the Year at the Homes & Garden Design Awards 2015. A major retrospective, authored by design historians Charlotte and Peter Fiell, summarised his work as embodying ‘design purity and craft principles’. 

‘Samuel Chan belongs to that rich heritage of British furniture designers who bridge craft and design through artistry, curiosity and immaculate making skills. This is a heritage that is in danger of disappearing as furniture becomes a subset of lifestyle marketing. Chan focuses on the inherent value of the furniture artefact … His work is of the highest order.’

Professor Jeremy Myerson, Royal College of Art