Sustainability Series: Sustainable furniture collection offers inspiration for the classroom

Published 10th September 2025

Bill Amberg Studio has partnered with Knepp Estate, home to one of the UK’s most innovative rewilding projects, to create a sustainable furniture collection for the estate’s café and farm shop. Beyond craftsmanship and ethical sourcing, this collaboration offers design and technology teachers a real-world example of circular economy principles and material-led design.

Circular economy and material-led design

The collection is crafted entirely from materials sourced on the estate, including leather from free-roaming cattle and deer and ash wood reclaimed from trees cleared due to ash dieback. Even small offcuts were repurposed into log baskets, coasters, and other café accessories.

For teachers, this offers a practical example of:

• Material-led innovation, showing how leather and wood properties influence design decisions.
• Circular economy thinking, where every part of a material is used.
• Real-world problem-solving, where experimentation with materials leads to functional, creative solutions.

Linking design with values and experimentation

The furniture also reflects Knepp Estate’s ethos, combining traditional craftsmanship with modern design thinking. Students can explore:

• How trestle tables use centuries-old jointing methods alongside contemporary slung leather chairs.
• How user-centred design considers context, function, and sustainability.

This shows students that good design balances aesthetics, durability, and purpose, while respecting the story behind a project.

Extending learning

The Knepp collection links well to the KI Europe and Furniture Maker’s Company ‘Inspired by Industry’ context, which challenges students to reduce components in furniture design while maintaining strength and functionality. Using timbers, metals, and even 3D-printed components, students can explore techniques such as lamination, generative design, and destructive testing. Both projects demonstrate how material experimentation, sustainability, and creative problem-solving come together in practical design solutions.

‘Inspired by Industry’ is free for all teachers to use, with additional member-only tasks and activities available for Design & Technology Association members.

Download the full article

Bill Amberg Studio's collaboration with Knepp Estate has been highlighted in a feature article that you can download as a PDF below. Keep it handy for future inspiration or use it as a classroom resource to support your teaching.