HUNTINGDON routing company The Cutting Room is close to completing a unique project for a top London store. The Fred Perry outlet in Covent Garden commissioned the Glebe Road company to carve a specialist wooden sculpture to act as the front desk. The 24f

HUNTINGDON routing company The Cutting Room is close to completing a unique project for a top London store.

The Fred Perry outlet in Covent Garden commissioned the Glebe Road company to carve a specialist wooden sculpture to act as the front desk. The 24ft structure is also large enough to accommodate a seating area.

Mark Durey, who founded The Cutting Room in 1988 with his wife Gina, said: "The design is completely one of a kind. It's been a huge project for us: we have had between six and eight people working on it for over four weeks. In total we've probably spent 1000 man-hours on the project and - touch wood - we have not had any slip ups."

Architects employed by Fred Perry approached The Cutting Room in May after seeing examples of the firm's work on its website.

"This is a bit of a one-off for us. We tend to concentrate on replacement kitchen doors, but we are very diverse and will try our hands at a lot of things.

"The Fred Perry project is the first commission we have had, but because of the complexity, we have taken over the finishing and installation as well.

The Cutting Room also produces racing car bodywork, parts for aeroplanes, and uses pattern-making equipment to create three-dimensional maps and models. However, the scale of the Fred Perry commission was new territory for the company.

"Given the number of pieces that went into the desk, we had over 1.8 kilometres of edging to sand. That was hard work. The whole thing weighs two to three tonnes, and will have to be shipped down to London in 405 separate pieces.

"It's been a big project, but once we had the organisation in place we knew we could pull it off. We're very pleased with the results, and we hope the clients are too."