Q&A: Studio Makgill x H Furniture = ravishing rainbow chair range

When we last spoke to Hamish Makgill, he told us a little about his studio’s work with H Furniture on the new colour combinations for H’s wave-making WW Chair, a modern, wire-and-wood take on the classic Windsor design. Since then, we’ve had a sneak peak at the palette for the rejuvenated range, which was unveiled at designjunction last night, and were even more intrigued: how does a partnership between a graphic design agency and a furniture maker work? How does one go about creating a colour palette for six distinct furniture pieces? And where will Studio Makgill go next?

The colour choice was all ours. H has always been very trusting towards us and I think [H Furniture founder] Alejandro was genuinely excited to see what we would come up with.

We wanted to develop a palette of colours that had scope – that could create interesting combinations but that sat really well together as a whole. I knew that we wanted to create six very different chairs, so it needed to be fairly extensive.

We kept coming back to the conversation around origins and geography – the Windsor chair was originally a British design, Alejandro is a Mexican living in London (a duality that constantly informs his work) and my Danish roots and our mutual love of Danish furniture has always been a point of discussion. At the heart of the palette are the four colours from the flags of these three nations.

Working with these as the starting point, we then altered them so they became less primary and more surprising. By adding two further colours and the plain wood, we completed the set.

We are constantly working with colour in the studio – every project we do goes through a stage of colour development. I am sure we are influenced by trends (a lot of my inspiration comes from artists who work predominantly with colour) as much as our work might possibly influence others. But for us it’s an instinctive and creative process as opposed to a conscious ‘let’s see what’s going on in colour today’ exercise.

That’s where the instinct comes in – I guess my experience of growing up in a painter’s house gave me the skill to understand colour. We started with the rough palette and then we tweaked them until they started to sit well together. Pairs of colours started to come from the selection and then combinations of three and four. All the while we were making slight alterations. I think at one point we had about nine or 10 colours, but this gradually got whittled down to the final six.

First and foremost we wanted to create something beautiful for H Furniture. However, as designers, I think we feel naturally comfortable with unknown outcomes and for us this project is an experiment. We have no master plan to ditch graphic design and become furniture designers. We are genuinely happy working across disciplines – we often work on exhibition spaces and interiors. So this is an adventure – we can’t wait to see what happens next.

For me it’s not a conscious decision of working in one discipline or another – it is all design. There have always been a few design agencies that appear to be able to apply their thinking to furniture (I’m sure it works the other way round too) and I hope that cross-discipline approach continues. 

We have been working on the Field Table and Field Bench: a set of one table and two benches that can be made from two sheets of standard 8x4 timber. That means it’s easy to produce, affordable and there’s virtually no waste. The end result has so far appeared in three different projects of ours. We are currently looking to launch it as a product later in the year.