Do you lose precious minutes every morning looking for your keys? Have a daily 7.30am panic about where your train ticket is? Andrea Mestre has created Totem, an organising system that keeps essentials at hand to save time and reduce stress in the mornings. Standing approximately 180 centimetres high, the spine has a…
Tag: wood
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…
Maggie’s Centre wins top Wood Award
Judges voted unanimously to award the top prize to the Maggie’s Centre at the Robert Parfett Building at the Christie Hospital in Manchester, commenting that the structure “brought together the best in engineering, fabrication and architecture.” The single-storey building is constructed from a natural timber frame arranged around a central…
Emma Johnson designs Brutalist-inspired ceramics
Emma Johnson’s latest collection, entitled Atro City, takes inspiration from the often heavy and asymmetric forms of Brutalist architecture. She has re-imagined the aesthetic with a fresh and modern approach, creating a series of simple ceramic forms. The collection comprises a tea pot, cup and saucer, sugar bowl and milk jug…
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…
Win a Tom Raffield Skipper Pendant
Tom Raffield Ltd designs and makes a range of contemporary furniture and lighting that represents their beliefs, promotes good design and champions the materials they love. Every piece is hand-made by a skilled set of craftsmen in a woodland workshop in Cornwall, England, and individually finished. “We believe in sustainability…
Tandem’s space-saving furniture hangs from the walls
Comprising four individual pieces – a wardrobe, a desk, a shoe rack and seat, and a storage shelf – the Hanging Collection combines birch plywood with different facing materials including oak, melamine and desktop linoleum in a range of colours for a personalised look and feel. The minimal designs include soft, curved edges…
interview :: domaas/høgh
Domaas/Högh will be exhibiting at 100% Norway as part of the London Design Fair 22 – 25 September 2016. Register for your ticket here.
Olivia Post’s interactive light is inspired by a spinning top
The spun copper and turned oak lamp has been designed to be positioned in two ways – either resting on the wooden part and directing ambient light upwards, or resting on the metal part and directing task lighting downwards. In either position its rounded form means that the user can revolve…
interview :: amy isles freeman
Amy Isles Freeman will be exhibiting at the London Design Fair 22 –25 September 2016. Register for your tickets here. Portrait photograph by Paul Whittaker.
Day Design Co’s ceramics are imprinted with wood grain
Forest of Ceramics is a collection of vessels made from semi-porcelain casting slip and decorated by hand. Because Daisy uses locally-sourced timber to create the grain pattern in the clay, each piece is unique. When the collection is arranged in a group, the reason for its title becomes clear, especially as each…
Book about tidying up inspires furniture collection
LYNKO is a series of wooden-hinged powder-coated metal frames, with a selection of accessories that turn them into storage systems for bedroom, kitchen or bathroom. Developed in response to a more transient population, they are designed to be customised and then folded up and brought with you as you move…
interview :: forest + found
Forest + Found will be exhibiting at the London Design Fair 22 – 25 September 2016. Register for your tickets here.
interview :: heather scott
You can find out more about Heather and buy her products at The Maker Place.
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…
Maya Alvarado creates a new shelving system for local charity shop
This week, Benchmark’s resident Fixpert, Maya Alvarado teams up with Benchmark’s cabinetmaker Max to fit the Red Cross fix, they bring pre-fabricated parts on site and prepare the new storage system ready for use… 09:00: It is Saturday morning, having collected the materials and tools from Benchmark’s workshop, Max and I…
interview :: rosie brewer
You can find out more about Rosie’s products, and buy them, from the Maker Place.
Maya Alvarado prototypes new paddles
06:00: I wake up in Hungerford, and begin my day by researching existing paddles. Today I will prepare some different versions for Heidi to test out at the next canoe training session. I get ready and leave for work. 07:30: When I arrive at the workshop, I look over some…
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…
interview :: studio haran
I met husband and wife team Studio Haran on my travels during confessions of a design geek’s Cornish Design Season at the end of last year. Falmouth University graduates Joel and Helena design and make sustainable furniture and lighting from their farm courtyard workshop. They work with FSC graded timber –…
interview :: made by michael
I discovered Michael Daae Christensen’s work at Northmodern in Copenhagen at the beginning of this year, and then met him in person at the Stockholm Furniture Fair in February. Despite still being a student at Denmark’s TEKO, (part of VIA University College), he has already established his own studio, Made by Michael,…
interview :: nordvink
I met Sanna and Anne of Danish design studio Nordvink at Northmodern in Copenhagen at the beginning of this year and was immediately captivated by their simple yet functional approach to design. Six months later, I finally pinned them down to find out more about how they work… What’s the most…
interview :: richard hardy
I met Richard Hardy at Clerkenwell Design Week and was immediately impressed with his playful approach to sustainable design, pairing ‘waney-edges’ with bright primary colours to create responsible furniture with mass appeal. I couldn’t wait to find out more about what makes him tick… What’s the most important thing to know…
pinterest :: wood
What is it about wood? It seems to appeal to something deep within us. I recently interviewed East London institution ‘Barn the spoon’ – a man who makes his living from carving and selling wooden spoons – and he said, “making stuff out of wood with axes and knives is…
interview :: feist forest
Feist Forest is based in an “old tin tabernacle” in Devon and launched just six weeks ago. They make wooden work tables for “the vagabonds, dreamers and makers who courageously make great ideas happen.” With a pitch like that, how could I not feature them on the blog? I spoke…
interview :: baines&fricker
I have been a fan of husband and wife team Baines&Fricker since they launched their design company at 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Design in 2011, but I am especially excited about their new collection, which launches at Clerkenwell Design Week a week today. I caught up with Eliza Fricker for a sneak preview……
interview :: baines&fricker
I have been a fan of husband and wife team Baines&Fricker since they launched their design company at 100{ff546b69e23b1524d799f96c6ba7a638e1f677053b0a2a1568b05315fd5f8fc7} Design in 2011, but I am especially excited about their new collection, which launches at Clerkenwell Design Week a week today. I caught up with Eliza Fricker for a sneak preview……
feature :: making the invisible store of happiness
This is the third essay in a series of four about the behind the scenes process leading up to the installation of The Invisible Store of Happiness in Saint John’s Arch during Clerkenwell Design Week. This one is entitled Making… They say it takes a village, and despite Sebastian Cox…