A biography for David Linleyhasn’t been written yet.
“I would love to get into the dictionary as synonymous with great quality and service.”
“I like to say we can make anything in wood.”
“I made an urban-looking bicycle that could stand up to potholes. Of course, it was stolen instantly - proof of the genius of its design.”
“I loved the idea of evolving traditional methods and design to make products that last but are also relevant for the modern age.”
“Beautiful engineering always held a fascination for me.”
“America is wonderful.”
“Californians are not so precious about their antiques, not so nervous about what others will think if they mix classic with modern, old with new.”
“I must have made 20 different bicycles in my life; bicycle parts are like works of art in miniature.”
“I love wood. I love its permanence, its way of changing hue over the years, its way of expanding and contracting, of moving or aging and growing better and more beautiful with time.”
“In the early 1980s, Linley was a cooperative. There were four of us who designed and made cabinets and desk accessories.”
“Nothing tests a marriage more than insomnia or snoring.”
“I love partridge and duck casseroles, and have been known to hunt my own game. It's important to eat off the land where possible.”
“We should promote and celebrate and enthuse the artisans and craftsmen of Great Britain.”
“I remember being taken to visit houses by my father, who then tested my powers of observation by expecting me to describe the things I had seen... Unusual furniture always seemed easier to remember than other things.”
“My grandmother started my interest in secret doors, trying to find things she lost, and we found an old letter in a great bookcase with a round facade.”
“My daughter makes great jewellery and my son wants to pursue engineering. They've both been indoctrinated by the school of Linley. People want to get back to painting, building, exploring what their creative sides can do - it's something all human beings crave.”
“Most craft is, you know, terrible, absolutely terrible, so I don't like the word, or the word 'artisan' either.”
“On a fine day, I'm a keen cyclist.”
“A lot of my pieces have involved teamwork, but hopefully they've inspired people to make things - that inspiration would be a great legacy.”
“There was a submarine that I desperately wanted to buy in the toy shop. My father said, 'No, you go and build it yourself.'”