Our Story
Tale of a couple of cross-culture woodworking fanatics.
Variegation is most commonly used to refer to differing zones of colouration on a plant’s leaves, stems or their fruit; these patches or streaks add an abstract beauty to otherwise familiar plants. Variegation more generally means variety, difference and irregularity. To us the meaning is the sum of all its parts; Variegate is a verb - to create things of natural beauty that show the infinite colours and variety of the wood we are so privileged to work with.
Hello! We are Johanna and Harry, the couple behind Variegate.
Harry grew up in south London and is a joiner by trade. He had worked as a joiner and a machinist in a prominent London based company and now wants to focus more on his furniture building and design.
Johanna, grew up in the Philippines and moved to London initially to pursue her passion for props and special effects in film and theatre but found a new pursuit in woodworking. She worked in production and logistics for the same joinery company as Harry.
Here they met and bonded over their love of making and shared values of responsible craftsmanship, and so decided to start a small business together. After having some success at a Christmas market with some chopping boards and trinket boxes, the seed was planted for something a little bigger and Variegate was formed!
Our design style follows minimalist European silhouettes with Asian influence. We love mixing carving textures with straight lines and experimenting with non-traditional woods. We are open to a variety of different commission projects - you can view our past works on our ‘Commissions’ page. Please do not hesitate to contact us, we would love to hear your idea - big or small!
All of the products at Variegate are made, packaged, and sent, by the two of us.
Our timber is always sourced from suppliers who can provide either provenance for their hardwood or an FSC rating for sheet material. Most of the hardwood we use is from storm-fallen London trees.
When we are lucky enough to come across it, we also use salvaged timber from unwanted furniture, housing demolitions and waste from commercial joinery companies.
All of our packaging is paper-based and 100% recyclable. Please reuse it if you can, before you recycle it.
It is our deepest respect for the tree…that we may offer the tree a second life.
— George Nakashima