We Invite You to Experience Our Workshop First-hand in Richmond, Virginia.
Performance.
Innovation.
Design.
Crafting things the best way often means the most difficult way, the way that simply takes more time. Our techniques are highly labor intensive and the quality of work at each step is guaranteed by each individual craftsperson, a process that assures the strength and beauty of each piece of handcrafted outdoor furniture.
Performance and innovation are driving forces in the workshop, dictating a continual quest of how to craft a product to perform for a lifetime. McKinnon and Harris is constantly testing new methods, enhancing coating applications, and improving standards to create the best estate furniture for aggressive climates.
Performance.
Innovation.
Design.
Crafting things the best way often means the most difficult way, the way that simply takes more time. Our techniques are highly labor intensive and the quality of work at each step is guaranteed by each individual craftsperson, a process that assures the strength and beauty of each piece of handcrafted outdoor furniture.
Performance and innovation are driving forces in the workshop, dictating a continual quest of how to craft a product to perform for a lifetime. McKinnon and Harris is constantly testing new methods, enhancing coating applications, and improving standards to create the best estate furniture for aggressive climates.
Our Craftspeople and Their Craft
Our craftspeople are artists recognized for their attention to the smallest detail, reverence for beautiful craftsmanship, and esteem for the artistic process. The craftspeople at McKinnon and Harris take great pride in building something beautiful, crafted to last without exception.
Our process, oriented to man rather than machine, requires the hand artistry and judgment of a highly skilled artisan. Many parts are cut and shaped by hand, using hand files and tools unchanged from the 19th century. Our bends are complex, compound curves requiring the skill of an exacting craftsperson.
Every inch of every piece of handcrafted outdoor furniture, every visible surface, corner, and joint is carefully hand sanded using a series of sandpapers and files of varying degrees. This is arduous work, but critical to making a sensual and beautiful piece that will withstand the demands of exterior use. Throughout the finishing process and again before coating, each piece is inspected by hand for a surface completely free of imperfection. These labor intensive, hand finishing techniques result in an unparalleled smooth finish, characteristic of heirloom furniture.
A Labor of Love
McKinnon and Harris utilizes the highest grade aluminum alloys combining strength, resilience, and corrosion resistance. Tremendously difficult to weld, aluminum requires the hands, eyes, and artistic sensitivity of a master craftsperson. We bevel precise angles into every bar to create maximum weld strength. Far stronger than a conventional surface weld, this labor intensive technique allows the weld to be inset without sacrificing strength and integrity. Welds are then carefully blended and polished to create a seamless piece, a characteristic unique to McKinnon and Harris furniture. Our complex and sophisticated joinery techniques enable our unrivaled estate furniture to last for generations.
A Labor of Love
McKinnon and Harris utilizes the highest grade aluminum alloys combining strength, resilience, and corrosion resistance. Tremendously difficult to weld, aluminum requires the hands, eyes, and artistic sensitivity of a master craftsperson. We bevel precise angles into every bar to create maximum weld strength. Far stronger than a conventional surface weld, this labor intensive technique allows the weld to be inset without sacrificing strength and integrity. Welds are then carefully blended and polished to create a seamless piece, a characteristic unique to McKinnon and Harris furniture. Our complex and sophisticated joinery techniques enable our unrivaled estate furniture to last for generations.
Performance Enhancing Technologies
We undertake measures unprecedented in the exterior furniture industry to ensure that McKinnon and Harris furniture fulfills the remarkable task of remaining outdoors year-round, in even the most demanding exterior environments. More than twenty-five years of our research and development have led to the creation of our effective, environmentally friendly, protective coating technology.
EC² Substrate Conversion Coating
McKinnon and Harris employs Bonderite® EC² Technology as the initial undercoating in our multi-step architectural coating system. A revolutionary coating technology from Henkel Corporation, Bonderite® EC² Technology was developed as a standalone coating for highly corrosive saltwater environments. The salt spray resistance of this exceptional coating creates a more durable finish compared to traditional technologies used in the market today. This enables our furniture to endure extreme environments all over the world, from Palm Beach to Dubai. The EC² substrate conversion coating is followed by the Architectural Grade Finish Coat, which offers exceptional weather resistance with the highest level of gloss and color retention over a period of many years. By making furniture with an exceptionally long lifecycle, we avoid contributing to landfill with obsolete, broken, cast-off things.
EC² Substrate Conversion Coating
McKinnon and Harris employs Bonderite® EC² Technology as the initial undercoating in our multi-step architectural coating system. A revolutionary coating technology from Henkel Corporation, Bonderite® EC² Technology was developed as a standalone coating for highly corrosive saltwater environments. The salt spray resistance of this exceptional coating creates a more durable finish compared to traditional technologies used in the market today. This enables our furniture to endure extreme environments all over the world, from Palm Beach to Dubai. The EC² substrate conversion coating is followed by the Architectural Grade Finish Coat, which offers exceptional weather resistance with the highest level of gloss and color retention over a period of many years. By making furniture with an exceptionally long lifecycle, we avoid contributing to landfill with obsolete, broken, cast-off things.
Creating Lasting Upholstery
Our cushion workroom lives under the same workshop roof. Our master sewists approach the production of each cushion with meticulous care. Crafting our cushions alongside our furniture means that we can tailor each cushion to each piece of furniture to an exacting degree. Fabrics are cut and sewn by hand, as only the accomplished hands of an expert sewist can gauge the way each fabric will behave. The workroom gives great attention to matching complex patterns and aligning stripes. Our unparalleled sewing capabilities ensure our cushions match the impeccable workmanship of our handcrafted outdoor furniture.
Quite simply, we craft furniture to endure, outlast, and outperform all other exterior furniture.