20th October 2022
October news: supercharging Smile Plastics, silk scarf art for refugees, and TAKT’s digital detox
Atelier100’s collection is out, Superflux’s SAFE is open, and Pearson Lloyd have been at the coconuts…
Three of Atelier100’s 13 creatives: L-R Andu Masebo, Clara Chu and Yasmin Lennon-Chong. Full collection images will be released on 27 October. Photography by Ayesha Kazim.
Just in time for Christmas – Atelier100 launches hyperlocal design collection
Over the last three months, 13 creatives have been making use of Atelier100’s unique incubator programme. They range from recent graduates to established craft artists, all selected from within a 100km radius of the centre of London. The ambition is to model a bold new vision of production and consumption – one that embodies a low-carbon supply chain and strengthens local production networks.
From 27 October (next Thursday!), the Atelier100 limited-edition collection will be available to buy in store and online. Ranging from car-exhaust-inspired furniture and deadstock knitwear to colourful candle holders pigmented with London brick dust, and botanically dyed recycled-paper lighting, the result is an eclectic, sustainability-driven, discipline-hopping showcase of the most exciting talents in the capital’s creative scene.
Enter the ideas factory.
From 27 October (next Thursday!), the Atelier100 limited-edition collection will be available to buy in store and online. Ranging from car-exhaust-inspired furniture and deadstock knitwear to colourful candle holders pigmented with London brick dust, and botanically dyed recycled-paper lighting, the result is an eclectic, sustainability-driven, discipline-hopping showcase of the most exciting talents in the capital’s creative scene.
Enter the ideas factory.
In SAFE, Superflux curates 10 global projects responding to risk, tackling themes such as water scarcity, sustainability, and the rise of automation.
Superflux to open SAFE at Somerset House
Superflux have long pioneered conversations around the role design plays in imagining new visions for the future, drawing threads of connection that tie mythology and large-scale ideas to tangible changes that can transform people's lives in a direct way. Their latest project, SAFE, takes a notable shift – looking closely at near future trends, and asking how ongoing infrastructure projects and materials-innovation research are quietly changing the world.
Open to the public from this Friday 21 October, the showcase tackles the future of AI in the workplace, efforts tackling water and food scarcity, and much more, through 10 new practical, provocative and poetic commissions.
You won’t want to miss out.
Book your free ticket to see the near future at Somerset House.
Open to the public from this Friday 21 October, the showcase tackles the future of AI in the workplace, efforts tackling water and food scarcity, and much more, through 10 new practical, provocative and poetic commissions.
You won’t want to miss out.
Book your free ticket to see the near future at Somerset House.
Smile Plastics’ panels have been used to make several display plinths at the GANNI store on Beak Street, London. Image courtesy of GANNI.
Smile Plastics’ zero-waste revolution
Smile Plastics is one of the biggest and most respected manufacturing brands in the world of circular design, and a major new investment – totalling £980K – is enabling the pioneers of zero-waste production to massively expand their efforts: doubling staff and tripling production capacity.
The money has been used to purchase a new larger factory space in Swansea, meaning Smile Plastics will soon produce 100% recycled and recyclable plastic 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and is set to save 1,500 tonnes of plastic waste from landfill and transform it into beautiful, practical materials.
Smile Plastics’ distinctive, terrazzo-like surfaces have become regular sights at major global design events, and are sought after by architects and designers worldwide. With supply expanding to meet eco-conscious demand, the future for zero-waste couldn’t be brighter.
Email Emily to book an interview with founders Rosalie and Adam.
The money has been used to purchase a new larger factory space in Swansea, meaning Smile Plastics will soon produce 100% recycled and recyclable plastic 24 hours a day, seven days a week – and is set to save 1,500 tonnes of plastic waste from landfill and transform it into beautiful, practical materials.
Smile Plastics’ distinctive, terrazzo-like surfaces have become regular sights at major global design events, and are sought after by architects and designers worldwide. With supply expanding to meet eco-conscious demand, the future for zero-waste couldn’t be brighter.
Email Emily to book an interview with founders Rosalie and Adam.
Images of the publication accompanying ‘Uprooting, rerooting: Matter and the construction of the self’, Bisila Noha’s solo exhibition in Bordeaux, France. Graphic design by Matilda de Lageneste.
Bisila Noha holds first solo show in Bordeaux
Known for her ceramic artworks, the artist and activist Bisila Noha breaks new ground in her first solo show, opening this Thursday in Bordeaux. Her largest collection to date includes conceptually charged pieces that blur the boundaries between pottery and sculpture – as well as her first works in bronze.
Titled ‘Uprooting, rerooting: Matter and the construction of the self’, the exhibition also features a publication of Bisila’s works, accompanied by her reflections and poetry on the process of making and what it represents to her. “It was only when writing became part of my making process that my pieces were complete,” she notes.
A landmark show for one of the most intriguing artists (and wonderful humans) we know, the exhibition takes place at Galerie Revel in Bordeaux, France, and runs from 20 October 2022 to 8 January 2023.
For interviews with Bisila, please get in touch with Sabine.
Titled ‘Uprooting, rerooting: Matter and the construction of the self’, the exhibition also features a publication of Bisila’s works, accompanied by her reflections and poetry on the process of making and what it represents to her. “It was only when writing became part of my making process that my pieces were complete,” she notes.
A landmark show for one of the most intriguing artists (and wonderful humans) we know, the exhibition takes place at Galerie Revel in Bordeaux, France, and runs from 20 October 2022 to 8 January 2023.
For interviews with Bisila, please get in touch with Sabine.
Curve Coat Rack designed by Depping & Jørgensen for TAKT.
TAKT wants you to log off
Taking its cue from evolving attitudes to technology, TAKT’s latest Depping & Jørgensen-designed piece offers a response to anxieties around our increasingly digital lives. With an attachable phone-friendly shelf, Curve Coat Rack encourages you to leave your devices at the door.
Extending TAKT’s reach into the hallway, the launch expands the brand’s eco-conscious design to meet the growing lifestyle demands of its consumers. Eager to continue pushing the status quo within the industry, TAKT has also introduced its Circular Promise: a commitment enabling owners to return furniture that is unwanted or damaged, repairing or recycling them in response to further minimise environmental impacts.
Please get in touch with Rupert for high-res images and further info.
Extending TAKT’s reach into the hallway, the launch expands the brand’s eco-conscious design to meet the growing lifestyle demands of its consumers. Eager to continue pushing the status quo within the industry, TAKT has also introduced its Circular Promise: a commitment enabling owners to return furniture that is unwanted or damaged, repairing or recycling them in response to further minimise environmental impacts.
Please get in touch with Rupert for high-res images and further info.
Many of the best creative crossovers happen by accident. A chance meeting earlier this year between Design District neighbours – migrant art initiative Migrate Art and refugee craft collective Love Welcomes – has led to a brilliant new collaboration, combining art, fashion and humanitarian impact.
Refugee silk scarf art project Moral Fibres launches at Design District
Moral Fibres is a series of limited-edition crepe de chine silk scarves designed by four extraordinary artists – Chloe Early, Lakwena Maciver, Sara Shamma, and Camille Walala. Available for £190 (plus VAT) each from Thursday 10 November, the scarves have been handmade by Love Welcomes’ team of refugee craftswomen, and every purchase goes towards helping a refugee and their family rebuild lives upended by war.
The collection launches at Design District on 9 November, and will be available to buy online from Migrate Art.
We’re also hosting regular tours of Design District's beautiful buildings, meeting its creative tenants. Hit reply and let Sabine know if you’d like to join one soon.
The collection launches at Design District on 9 November, and will be available to buy online from Migrate Art.
We’re also hosting regular tours of Design District's beautiful buildings, meeting its creative tenants. Hit reply and let Sabine know if you’d like to join one soon.
New vessels by Darren Appiagyei on their way to NYC. Photography by @mylifeinsound.
Darren Appiagyei takes his turn at Salon, New York
In the last few years, artist and maker Darren Appiagyei has been making a major impact on the international craft scene – attracting an admiring following for his highly unusual, richly textured vessels. And now, he’s taking his woodturning talents to New York with two upcoming shows.
Darren’s new work will feature at Salon Art + Design at Park Avenue Armory in New York from 10–14 November. And, following in March 2023, his work will appear at MAD (Museum of Arts and Design). Other exhibition announcements are expected soon, but in the meantime Darren is also involved in a number of high-profile craft events as a speaker and panellist.
Follow him on Instagram, and please get in touch if you’d like to hear more or would like to speak directly to the man himself.
Darren’s new work will feature at Salon Art + Design at Park Avenue Armory in New York from 10–14 November. And, following in March 2023, his work will appear at MAD (Museum of Arts and Design). Other exhibition announcements are expected soon, but in the meantime Darren is also involved in a number of high-profile craft events as a speaker and panellist.
Follow him on Instagram, and please get in touch if you’d like to hear more or would like to speak directly to the man himself.
Edge Free by Pearson Lloyd for Modus. Image by Jake Curtis.
I should coco: Pearson Lloyd’s coir sofa for Modus
The latest furniture family in Pearson Lloyd’s ongoing programme of future-focused design thinking, Edge Free for Modus reinvents workspace sofa seating with a new sustainably made modular system that ditches carbon-heavy foam for coconut fibre.
By using a food-industry waste material – coconut fibre (coir) – as a cushioning material instead of traditional polyurethane foam, Edge Free represents a significant reduction in embodied carbon compared to most sofa systems. The coir is layered with wool over steel springs fitted to a timber frame – a 33% weight reduction that makes transport less carbon intensive, too.
For more on Edge Free, and Pearson Lloyd’s 25-year track record of design innovation, get in touch.
By using a food-industry waste material – coconut fibre (coir) – as a cushioning material instead of traditional polyurethane foam, Edge Free represents a significant reduction in embodied carbon compared to most sofa systems. The coir is layered with wool over steel springs fitted to a timber frame – a 33% weight reduction that makes transport less carbon intensive, too.
For more on Edge Free, and Pearson Lloyd’s 25-year track record of design innovation, get in touch.
+44 (0)7791 568890
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8 Andrews Road
London
E8 4QN
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London
E8 4QN