Tag: craft
Andrew Cunningham’s homewares are made from timber off-cuts
Rejecting mass production methods, Norfolk based designer-maker Andrew Cunningham has designed a collection of home accessories created entirely from reclaimed and sustainably managed English and tropical hardwood offcuts that larger companies can’t use. “Function is a major feature of my designs as well as a clean uncluttered aesthetic,” Andrew tells Design Geek, “I…
Heather Scott’s wall-mounted plant stand elevates the humble houseplant
Designer-maker Heather Scott has created a wall-mounted plinth to display plants, working with Falmouth based plant studio and shop Toro. The brief was to change the way that house plants are presented, moving them from floor or tabletop to eye level by somehow affixing them to the wall. “My inspiration for the Toro…
Native & Co’s Mu collection celebrates cedar wood
Furniture and tableware brand Native & Co launched their latest collection entitled Mu at September’s London Design Festival. The collection, comprising six designs, celebrates the natural qualities of cedar wood, highlighting the grain in a variety of shapes from a simple circular platter and traditional plate, to a smooth ripple effect…
Troels Flensted creates a ceramic collection without using clay
Troels Flensted’s Poured Collection is handmade in Copenhagen and created by combining a mineral powder and water-based acrylic polymer. Various coloured pigments are added to the mixture before it is poured into a mould. The marble-like effect is unique to each smooth, polished piece, giving the feel of ceramic, but…
Emily Wiles turns a love of textiles into fluid ceramic forms
Emily Wiles has used her background in textiles to create a series of delicate porcelain pieces that take on the form of softly draped material. The folding and draping process used in textile and garment construction is the starting point for each piece, making every one unique. The decorative pieces…
London Design Fair celebrates Indian design
This Is India, co-curated by Tiipoi founder Spandana Gopal and the London Design Fair‘s Jimmy McDonald and designed by Kangan Arora, will showcase ten emerging and established India-centric designers and brands across product, textile and furniture, including Leah Singh, Aman Khanna and Objectry. “For the 10th Anniversary of the Fair…
Fern Robinson’s jewellery encourages play
The collection includes a necklace made from a ‘Slinky’ spring toy, one which is half pencil and half encased pencil shavings, a ring which doubles up as a maze toy which you tilt to get the ball inside from one end to the other and a brooch with removable crayons…
interview :: forest + found
Forest + Found will be exhibiting at the London Design Fair 22 – 25 September 2016. Register for your tickets here.
Forest+Found use nature to guide their craft
Kate Brewer, founder of Look Like Love, profiles a different new designer every week. With the tagline “support, nurture, promote” echoing confessions of a design geek’s own “discover, champion and inspire” and a similar commitment to advocating for emerging talent, the parallels between Look Like Love and confessions of a design…
Charles Dedman’s reinvents traditional crafts
As a designer myself, I know what a challenge it can be to come up with new ideas – and sometimes the imagery and ‘inspiration’ at every turn just makes it worse. The days of the excitement and anticipation of waiting your turn to thumb through the latest edition of Frame magazine are…
interview :: ann kristin einarsen
Norwegian artist and designer Ann Kristin Einarsen launched Stilleben (above) as part of Structure, an exhibition of contemporary Norwegian craft and design in Milan’s Ventura Lambrate last month. confessions of a design geek caught up with her to find out more about her practice… What’s the most important thing to…
interview :: sverre uhnger
Norwegian designer Sverre Uhnger launched Trace, a collection of wooden platters, as part of Structure, a showcase of contemporary Norwegian craft and design in Milan’s Ventura Lambrate. confessions of a design geek editor Katie Treggiden was intrigued by the juxtaposition of craft and modern technology in his collection, and caught up…
Studio Haran champions sustainable design
Kate Brewer, founder of Look Like Love, profiles a different new designer every week. With the tagline “support, nurture, promote” echoing confessions of a design geek’s own “discover, champion and inspire” and a similar commitment to advocating for emerging talent, the parallels between Look Like Love and confessions of a design…
Designer-maker Kate Colin transforms paper into intricate 3D forms
Kate Brewer, founder of Look Like Love, profiles a different new designer every week. With the tagline “support, nurture, promote” echoing confessions of a design geek’s own “discover, champion and inspire” and a similar commitment to advocating for emerging talent, the parallels between Look Like Love and confessions of a design geek…
The Craftsman by Richard Sennet is the second #designbookclub book
Following the success of the first #designbookclub (you can read the full transcript here), we’ll be getting together again at 9pm GMT (4pm EST) on Thursday 04 February to discuss The Craftsman by Richard Sennett. It’s an absolutely wonderful book – one of those that ends up with a cracked…
Julian Jay Roux takes a year out from Design Academy Eindhoven to learn his craft
Design Academy Eindhoven student Julian Jay Roux has taken a year out from his Industrial Design course to complete a one-year Contemporary Craft BA at Plymouth College of Art in the south west of England to explore the relationship and distinctions between design and craft. The designer’s graduate project,…
Ellie Birkhead’s ambiguous brushes highlight Britain’s threatened crafts
University of Brighton graduate Ellie Birkhead has developed a collection of handmade brushes with ambiguous functions to draw attention to declining trades in the UK. The Brushes collection, which includes a double-headed brush, a circular brush with bristles pointing towards its centre, and a brush that fits onto a fingertip,…
The new minimalism
CDs, DVDs, stereos, alarm clocks, calendars, desktop computers, landline telephones, even books – the list of things that have been replaced by the tiny technology in our smart phones and tablets is staggering. Now that so many objects have been eliminated from our homes, the minimalist aesthetic is finally within…
feature :: makers of east london
My second book, Makers of East London, is out in just a few weeks. To whet your appetite, I thought I’d share my introduction with you here. The whirr of machinery is almost deafening as Daniel Harris wends his way through the collection of antique looms, warping mills and pern…
I’ve written a book!
I am absolutely delighted to finally be able to reveal that I’ve written my second book! Makers of East London tells the stories of 27 people who are making things from spoons to shoes, bells to bikes and chairs to chopping boards, in the heart of the capital, with stunning photography…
out and about :: weathering
One of the highlights of Tent London at this year’s London Design Festival was Weathering, a curation by the Crafts Council of Ireland showcasing new work from contemporary Irish designers and craftspeople. It was a real treat to see Joe Hogan weaving baskets live at the show – he’s been…
out and about :: total fabrication, LDF14
With a wide remit of “craft and design” and over 100 makers in the building, curating Craft Central‘s annual show for the London Design Festival must be a tough job, but every year they find a way to create a different perspective on craft. This year Total Fabrication is “an…
design for good :: shake the dust
Named after a rousing poem by Anis Mojgani, Shake the Dust is a social enterprise founded by Kathy Shenoy in late 2012 after she spent three years living in Africa, working on craft and design projects. Shake The Dust creates collaborations and opportunities for emerging British designers and skilled makers…
interview :: the new craftsmen
I’ve been talking a lot about the Danish concept of Hygge lately and about how this year I want to slow down and enjoy what Christmas is really about, which for me is being grateful for what I’ve got and sharing good food and good times with the people I…
interview :: stitch by stitch
I met Karen, one half of Stitch by Stitch, via twitter when I was putting together my Design for Good panel for Clerkenwell Design Week. By that point, I’d already found Kathy of Shake the Dust to talk about using producers in the developing world, but Karen’s story captured my…
out and about :: craftica
I am usually pretty cynical when it comes to big brands trying to ‘engage with a design audience,’ particularly when those brands fall outside of my, admittedly fairly arbitrary, definition of design. (Furniture design and product design in, for example, fashion design and automotive design out. I did say it was arbitrary…
interview :: kirstie allsopp
Kirstie Allsopp seems to divide people into two camps… well, I am a huge fan and proud to say so. I absolutely love her! I love her honesty and the fact she has the courage of her convictions – and I think what’s she’s doing for British craft through shows like Kirstie’s…