Start-Up Spotlight: Schoolhouse Workshops

Founded in 2024, Schoolhouse Workshops is a bespoke furniture and kitchen studio that blends thoughtful design with exceptional craftsmanship. Working across London, East Anglia and the South East, the team specialises in high-end freestanding and fitted furniture. They create beautifully considered pieces that respond to how people live, work and use their spaces. Led by founder Andrew Capper, an industrial designer by training with a deep-rooted passion for woodworking, Schoolhouse Workshops combines traditional hand skills with modern digital design and manufacturing to deliver timeless, functional designs with meticulous attention to detail.

“At SHW, good design is about understanding how our clients want to live, and bringing that to life through our designs and products. Good design enhances lives by making them easier and more joyful.”

Andrew grew up woodworking with his father and developed a love of design and making. As a result, he trained for a BA (Hons) in Industrial Design at Coventry’s prestigious design school. He began his career creating products for some of Britain’s most iconic consumer brands, from British Airways to Dove Skincare. However, his love of craft and working with wood saw him return to his roots and start Schoolhouse Workshops.

The SOLIDWORKS for Start-Ups Scheme

Andrew: “We were looking for a software solution that suited furniture making. As an industrial designer by training, I was aware of SOLIDWORKS and its deep engineering capability, but not its application into joinery and furniture design spaces. I was introduced to the capability of SOLIDWORKS and SWOOD and it really felt like a good fit. After an online enquiry and an initial demo, it felt like an easy choice.

“The process of applying for the scheme was very straightforward. It was all largely handled by my Visiativ account manager, so it didn’t require a great deal of administration on our part.”

Would you recommend the SOLIDWORKS for Start-Ups Scheme?

Andrew: “Yes. In start-up mode there are many pressures on funds and cash flow. Being able to access high-end 3D CAD for free for that all important first year, and then at a discounted rate those first 3 years of establishing the business was hugely appealing and one more reason to continue using SOLIDWORKS.”

Which SOLIDWORKS products do you use most?

Andrew: “SOLIDWORKS Professional and SWOOD. The SWOOD plug-in is a perfect fit for our bespoke furniture and kitchen design business. For repeat elements like a typical kitchen carcass, it allows fast duplication for each project, with parametric dimensional changes at the touch of a button alongside having all of our go-to ironmongery loaded into the library. With that said, as every project is fully bespoke, we have the modelling depth of SOLIDWORKS for when we’re creating one-off complex unique parts.”

Are there any must-have features or tools?

Andrew: “Dimensional accuracy, tolerance and fit with off-the-shelf mechanisms is key, so being able to fully interrogate every build and know it works before cutting expensive material is very important.  Another important feature is the drafting element. This is because many aspects of our projects are handmade, easily being able to produce construction drawings for the carpenters in the workshop is very important.”

Schoolhouse Workshops’ design process

Andrew: “We start by working in both hand sketches and in a 2D vector drawing package to quickly develop a concept, iterating with our client’s feedback. Once we have a locked design we move into SOLIDWORKS where the design is developed and we can check construction, on-site fit, assembly and craft the details. We use the 3D model to create photo-realistic renders for our clients, exploring choice of timber and finishes. Once we get sign-off we can seamlessly move from CAD to CAM. This is typically where 50-60% of a project will go to CNC with the rest being made by-hand using traditional techniques.”

About a project

Andrew: “We worked on one project with two very design literate clients who had a very clear vision of the contemporary kitchen interior they wanted to create. The aim was to create a minimalistic, seamless space where all the paraphernalia of modern life could be hidden away. Creating a calm, zen-like space.

“There were a whole series of design and integration challenges. These included architectural high ceilings, a hidden door to a utility space and multiple steps and levels that the joinery needed to work with.

“Being able to scan and model the room, we could ensure all the joinery would seamlessly integrate. Meanwhile with the less-is-more approach, there was nowhere to hide in terms of interfaces and junctions between each element. The modelling capabilities and integration with all the joinery fixings and ironmongery allowed us to consider every detail and know it would all come together on-site.

“Alongside the fixings and ironmongery libraries, the interrogation tools to check dimensional accuracy and the animation tools to check openings and clearances were invaluable.”

Working with Visiativ

Andrew: “We had some challenges with installation and required training targeted exactly to our needs. Visiativ have been very responsive and quick to resolve, even creating some bespoke, ad hoc training support.

“The communication and interaction has been very strong. Striking a good balance between staying in touch with relevant services, whilst not being overly ‘sales-y’. This allows us to concentrate on the job of running a successful business.

“I’d definitely recommend SOLIDWORKS to other engineers and designers. Our experience with SOLIDWORKS is that it has unlimited depth, but has proven relatively easy to become proficient in.

What’s next?

“Our ambition isn’t unlimited growth. We plan to only ever have a finite number of design & build slots per year. The aim is to work on exclusive, challenging, enjoyable, high-value projects that fit our design ethos. By using SOLIDWORKS, we can be both efficient and also allows us to bring complex creative ideas to life with confidence. A perfect compliment of cutting-edge design capability with time honoured, hand crafting.”

• Visit the Schoolhouse Workshops website to learn more about their work.
• Follow Schoolhouse Workshops on Instagram.