Alan Hanafin Design

A County Kerry furniture studio creating contemporary bespoke furniture and woodwork by hand, combining traditional cabinetmaking skills with hardwood, glass, resin and metal to produce individual pieces designed to last for generations.

Alan Hanafin Design is a small independent furniture practice rooted in County Kerry and built around the idea that furniture should be made with care, purpose and permanence. Rather than producing standard ranges at industrial scale, Alan works directly with clients to design and handcraft individual pieces for particular homes, spaces and stories.

The studio specialises in custom furniture and bespoke woodwork, with work spanning dining tables, benches, cabinets, chests of drawers, sideboards, coffee tables, occasional tables and lighting. Each commission begins with the requirements of the client, but Alan’s own design language is clearly visible: strong contemporary forms, careful detailing, expressive materials and a willingness to combine traditional craft with more unexpected finishes.

Wood is at the centre of the practice. Alan uses carefully selected hardwoods and combines traditional woodworking techniques with materials such as glass, resin, copper and metal where the design calls for it. His website makes an important distinction between manufacture and making: the intention is not to reproduce identical objects repeatedly, but to give each commission individual attention.

That approach is especially visible in pieces such as the Atlas Dining Table, where the structure is inspired by the Greek figure carrying the world; the Butterfly Effect Drinks Cabinet, which uses rippling forms and charred timber to turn an abstract idea into furniture; and Burned Bridges, a commissioned coffee table whose material contrasts were developed around the personal story of its owner. These pieces demonstrate that the work is not only functional but often narrative.

Other work explores geometric and organic forms through Irish furniture-making traditions, including yew-and-ash benches and tables, oak-and-ash combinations, walnut drinks cabinets, sideboards incorporating Shou Sugi Ban-style charred oak and copper, and pared-back benches where proportion and joinery are allowed to do most of the visual work.

Alan’s route into furniture making began with a long-standing interest in working creatively by hand. He studied at the renowned Letterfrack Furniture College in Connemara, graduating with distinction in 2001. He then spent several years travelling, working with and learning from furniture makers and craftspeople in different countries before returning to Ireland.

On returning home, Alan settled in his native County Kerry on Ireland’s south-west coast. The rugged landscape and natural materials of the region have become part of the context in which the furniture is designed and made. Today, Design & Crafts Council Ireland lists Alan Hanafin Design as a Made Local furniture maker based in Ardfert, near Tralee.

Sustainability is approached through both material sourcing and longevity. Alan states that he uses high-quality, selectively harvested and sustainably sourced timbers, from both local and international sources, and places importance on avoiding material choices that encourage harmful deforestation. Just as importantly, the work is designed as an alternative to disposable furniture: hardwood pieces intended to remain useful for decades and potentially pass between generations.

The commission process is collaborative. Clients can approach Alan with an existing idea, a functional requirement, a space that needs a particular piece or simply an inspiration. From there, the design is developed around dimensions, materials, function and the character the client wants the finished furniture to have. This makes the studio particularly relevant for customers who want something that cannot be found in a conventional furniture store.

Alan Hanafin Design is recognised by Design & Crafts Council Ireland within its furniture-making directory and Made Local programme. The practice has also undertaken public and cultural commissions, including the specially commissioned storytelling chair for the Twin Towns Community Library in County Donegal, created after the studio won an open call to furniture makers.

The business is best approached as a maker’s studio rather than a walk-in retail shop. Enquiries and commissions are welcomed directly by phone or email, and prospective customers can explore the furniture and lighting galleries online before discussing a project. Because the publicly listed location is Ardfert rather than a specific visitor showroom address, W.ie recommends arranging any studio visit directly with Alan in advance.

Why W.ie chose Alan Hanafin Design: Alan Hanafin Design represents an important side of Irish-made that can easily be lost among mass-market interiors: one maker, working directly with a client, producing furniture slowly and deliberately in Ireland. The combination of Letterfrack training, traditional cabinetmaking, contemporary design, sustainable hardwood and genuinely bespoke commissions gives the studio a strong place within modern Irish craft. For W.ie, it demonstrates that buying Irish can mean commissioning an object with personality, provenance and the potential to remain in a family for generations.