When you sit down to a good meal, the chair is doing quiet work. It has to feel solid when you pull it in, stay comfortable through a long dinner, and sit right with the table and the room. That is why we build dining chairs to order, one set at a time, in our workshop in Wetaskiwin, just south of Edmonton.
A made-to-order chair is not waiting in a warehouse. It is built for you after you choose the model, the wood, and, where it applies, the upholstery. That takes a little patience. It also means the chair that arrives at your home was made from boards we selected in the shop, by people who will still be here if you ever need us.
The Windsor Executive armchair, in solid walnut with Ultraleather upholstery.
What made to order means in our shop
On our site you will see a typical lead time of 12 to 16 weeks, with a more accurate date confirmed when you order. The sequence is straightforward.
First, you choose a chair. Then you request a quote, and we confirm the details, the price, and your delivery estimate. A 70% deposit holds your place in the queue and covers materials, and the final payment is due on delivery. We then build the chairs by hand and bring them to you. White-glove delivery is free up to 300 km round trip, and $0.70 per kilometre beyond that, except for Calgary, where delivery is a flat $140.
We do not keep finished chairs in inventory. That is a deliberate choice. It lets us use carefully chosen hardwood, and it lets us give each order the attention it deserves.
Traditional chairs in the Wetaskiwin workshop. This set is curly maple with tapered legs. The Traditional is available with tapered or turned legs, in any wood.
Choosing the chair
We currently build three dining chair lines, all by hand in Alberta.
The Traditional is our most essential chair: a vertical slat back, a sculpted solid-wood seat, and a choice of tapered or turned legs, in any wood. It is $949.99 per chair. If you choose a wood that is not listed on the product page, we will requote the order.
The Windsor pairs a solid walnut frame with a fully upholstered seat and back in Ultraleather. A carved crest rail with a handhold makes it easy to pull in to the table, and curved cabriole-style legs give it a classic profile. The side chair is $1,249.99. The armchair, the Windsor Executive, is $1,549.99.
The Legacy is our flagship, also in solid walnut, with Brisa Distressed upholstery. The arms sweep forward from the back posts in one continuous curve, and a carved crest rail with a handhold helps the chair slide in and out from the table. The Legacy is available for pre-order. The side chair is $1,749.99. The armchair is $2,249.99.
Full-grain leather is available on request for the upholstered chairs, at an additional cost, quoted to order.
Traditional chairs in walnut, with turned legs, at the table. Tapered legs and other woods are also available. A wood not listed on the product page is requoted.
The wood, chosen board by board
A dining chair lives a hard life. It is tipped, drawn in and out, and sat in every day. The wood has to be sound, and the boards have to be chosen with the finished chair in mind, not simply cut to length from whatever is on the rack.
In our shop, hardwood is chosen board by board. The lumber we use is Canadian, and it is 100% kiln-dried when we purchase it. Our current chair lines are shown in solid walnut and curly maple. The Traditional can be made with tapered or turned legs, in any wood. If you would like a chair in a wood that is not listed on the product page, we can use any species that is legally purchasable, and we will requote the order. For one-of-a-kind work we also work in oak, walnut, and maple, as described on our bespoke page.
Walnut has a rich, dark colour and a fine grain that suits a formal dining room. Curly maple has a shimmering figure that can become the point of the chair.
Curly maple on a Traditional chair, with a sculpted solid-wood seat and tapered legs. The figure of the wood becomes part of the chair.
How the chair comes together
Once the quote is agreed and the deposit is in, the shop work begins.
We start from the design of the chair you chose. For a line chair, the form is already set: the crest, the legs, the seat, and the way the parts meet. The CNC cuts every piece that would normally need a jig, giving each part a precise, repeatable shape. The final fit and finish of all joinery is then done with traditional hand tools, such as chisels and planes of different types. On the Traditional, that includes a sculpted solid-wood seat and either tapered or turned legs. On the Windsor and the Legacy, it includes the carved crest rail and its handhold, and the curves that give each chair its character.
The parts are joined with a two-sided, dual-axis locking rabbet joint. The joint is structurally sound without glue. Glue holds the joint together; it is not the source of its strength. The chair is dry-fitted, assembled, and cleaned up so the lines are fair and the chair sits solid and level. Every piece, in every wood, is finished with a commercial 2K acrylic clear coat, the most durable finish we have found.
The Legacy armchair frame, front view, before final sanding, finishing, and upholstery.
If the chair is upholstered, the frame is completed before the seat and back are covered. The Windsor is upholstered in Ultraleather Original by Ultrafabrics, a performance material with the look and soft feel of fine leather. It cleans with soap and water and is rated at 400,000 double rubs. The Legacy is upholstered in Brisa Distressed, also by Ultrafabrics, a breathable, GREENGUARD-certified material rated at 200,000 to 300,000 double rubs.
Finished Windsor chairs in the shop, upholstered in Ultraleather.
Seeing the chair before it is built
You do not have to wait until delivery day to know what you are getting. You can preview a chair in a 3D render, and you are welcome to visit the workshop by appointment. We are on private property in Wetaskiwin, so we do not take walk-in visits, but we are glad to show you around when a time is set. Call 780-361-6563 to arrange it, or read a little more about the people behind the work on our About page.
If you are an interior designer, we can work from wood samples, photographs, or a conversation about the room, and we will be your single point of contact from quote to delivery. A formal trade program, with trade pricing, samples, and 3D models, is coming soon. You can email thomas@artesao.co to be included.
From the shop to your table
When the chairs are finished, we deliver them. White-glove delivery is included up to 300 km round trip from the workshop, which covers Edmonton and much of central Alberta. Delivery to Calgary is a flat $140. For other destinations beyond the free range, delivery is $0.70 per kilometre.
A dining set program is coming soon. Until then, the way to furnish a table is to choose the chair, decide how many side chairs and armchairs you need, and request a quote for the group.
A Windsor set at the table, ready for a long dinner.
If you are planning chairs for a dining room, a show home, or a restaurant, request a quote or call 780-361-6563. Tell us about the table, the room, and the chair you have in mind, and we will come back to you with pricing and a delivery estimate.
