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Sam Hech Two Timer © Established and Sons Shay Alkalay Stack © Established and Sons Wouter Scheublin Frame Chair © Established and Sons Collaboration WrongWoods BookCase Redn Glass Doors © Established and Sons Sebastian Wrong Font Clock © Established and Sons Alexander Taylor Fold Medium Sulpher Yellow © Established and Sons Klauser and Carpenter Bronze Day Light © Established and Sons

Article 23. Established and Sons Established & Sons, Furniture Design and Manufacturing Company, London, 2005 - Once again, the 2007 Salone del Mobile was at fever pitch. Beyond the thousands of stands in the massive Fuksas-designed Fiera grounds on the outskirts of the city, and within the leafy grounds of the more traditional Triennale, the city centre was consumed by hundreds of independent ‘off-site’ installations from the young and aspirational. Ever since Dutch design group Droog set a new benchmark in 2002 by occupying a seedy hotel in the ‘wrong’ part of town and issuing ‘passports’ for viewings of their new collection, set within a series of filthy rooms, the off-site shows have been in danger of self-parody, such is the effort to become more and more edgy. Thankfully, and perhaps as you would expect after the company’s successful debut at Milan in 2005, ESTABLISHED AND SON’S maintained a stylish sense of calm within this frenzy. The proudly British-based manufacturing and design company presented its third Milan collection with an independent and impressive installation at Pelota, an expansive former gymnasium tucked away in the heart of Milan’s fashionable Brera district – a welcome release from the suffocating confines of the Fiera’s airless halls. The impressive space was ordered with a series of giant cardboard box walls, an engaging strategy to present the company’s new collection within the context of previous work. Each internally framed box was hand-printed like neat graffiti with the specifics of each piece graphically embellished with the company’s branding and labelled with brief insights from each of the partners and house designers. The well-managed scale of the space, the strength and confidence of the installation and, of course, ultimately, the quality of the products, confirmed Established & Sons as a serious contender in the competitive international contemporary design market. The 2007 collection presented 15 new products, including the beguiling Font Clock by Established & Sons’ Operations Director and designer Sebastian Wrong, an extended line of storage boxes by Jasper Morrison that builds upon The Crate (a simple box modelled on a wine case, launched to divided opinion last year), as well as the Nekton stools by Zaha Hadid and a new table (Glide) and bench (Drift-in, Drift Out)by Future System’s Amanda Levete. A newprogram, Collaborations, extends the range by inviting contemporary artists to work with the Established & Sons’ team. This year’s collaboration produced the WrongWoods table and chest, by Wrong and British artist Richard Woods. The new work was presented in the context of the entire collection, giving a sense of drama to the more experimental pieces against accessible items such as the Fold series of lights that was recently inducted into the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. Conceived in late 2004, Established & Sons immediately faced criticism for commissioning work from high-profile le architects and designers such as Hadid and Levete, and launching them with elaborate and celebrity-studded parties. Added to this backlash was the predictable accusation that the company was relying on its famous connections for maximum press exposure (company CEO and co-founder Alasdhair Willis is married to Stella McCartney). Despite the ‘tall poppy’ syndrome, three years on, the company has consolidated its reputation as a respectable contributor to the international furniture-design industry. More importantly, it has demonstrated a real commitment to providing a platform for connecting design and manufacture within Britain through its close working- and business-relationship with Angad Paul from the Caparo Group, a company specialising in engineering products for the automotive industry. This ‘British-only’ mentality extends to their range of designers, although the definition is loosely applied as is appropriate for a multicultural community, encompassing designers who work within Britain rather than limited to their nationalities. A roll-call of famous names (Morrison, Hadid, Levete et al) is carefully supplemented by younger, cutting-edge talent such as Barber Osgerby and Alexander Taylor. “We are setting Established & Sons up as a platform for creativity in this country,” says Alasdhair Willis. “With that objective in mind then you’ve got to work with what, we feel, are the best people that represent that. There are designers that we work with that we know will never sell huge volumes for us, and yet they are often the first people on our list. [Simply] because their design work makes a very important contribution to our culture and we can identify and understand that.” The name that has undoubtedly garnered Established & Sons the most attention is, unsurprisingly, Zaha Hadid – the only woman to have received architecture’s highest accolade, the Pritzker Prize. With numerous large-scale buildings in the process of completion, not to mention a successful retrospective at the Guggenheim and another upcoming show at London’s Design Museum, it’s hard to understand how the commissioning process fits into Hadid’s famously frenetic schedule. Willis explains: “We work with someone like Zaha with a fairly loose starting point. There’s no point giving her a really specific brief because she will tell you to ‘f-off’ and she will do something completely different anyway. She works from these beautifully bound sketch pads and paintings and she will make these very random, quick, quick marks and we have to interpret that, and work collaboratively. We will come back with prototypes and, of course, it will be completely wrong, because that’s not how she saw it and so then we have to work through that. But the rewards at the end of the day are phenomenal.” For Hadid one can only imagine that the freedom offered by such a ‘blue sky’ approach coupled with a manufacturer open to pushing the boundaries of production was too good an opportunity to refuse. In addition, within the process of creating her production pieces for the group, the Aqua Table and Nekton stools, Hadid was able to engage with the emerging and somewhat dubiously titled ‘Design/Art’ market, experimenting with one-off or limited-edition designs that are then exhibited and sold at auction. Most recently, the New York branch of auction house Phillips de Pury, in collaboration with Established & Sons, held a ‘selling exhibition’ of five limited-edition designs by Hadid under the collective title of Seamless. Without doubt one of the most significant market trends that Established & Sons have been quick to pinpoint is this emerging Design/Art market. By introducing a number of ‘limited editions’ to a piece of furniture or product, the designers have the ability to maximise the selling potential of their work. Much like the discipline of fashion, their ‘production pieces’ sell for a more mainstream price tag while the ‘limited edition’ (usually signed and dated) sells for much more, particularly when auctioned at a selling exhibition at a high-profile auction house. But it’s not all about sales potential. As Sebastian Wrong points out, there is a freedom in creating a ‘limited edition’ product that is just not viable in a commercial product line. “We see [production and limited edition] as two very distinct areas for very distinct areas of expression. The editions are by nature very different animals to the production pieces. Regardless of a fashion or political context, from a purely creative point of view they offer a designer a completely different area for expression… it’s an amazing platform for your wildest dreams.” ‘Design/Art’ aside, perhaps one of the forward-thinking initiativesin the Established & Sons’ agenda is embedded in their ongoing commitment to promoting British design. Willis is adamant: “We are British and British based, and everything we produce is made in this country. We set out at the start to achieve that and [that objective] has not changed, it is still absolutely key to our business.” Wrong concurs: “We have some of the finest craftsmen and problem solvers in the world in this country and when we present them with some amazing concepts they are actually very keen to try and make this thing work. They are being tested and challenged and it’s great for the British industry.” To that end the company is in the process of establishing an apprenticeship scheme that endeavours to link young, creative people with manufacturing through their collaboration with the Caparo Group. The concept recalls the historical significance of Britain’s automotive industry and the sense of identity that its global presence instilled in the industry’s workers. Willis sums up: “We’ve lost something in the generation change that I think is about a simple pride in working with our hands. For example, historically in this country there was a real sense of pride in being a mechanic for a British company like Aston Martin – it was considered noble and prestigious, a kind of honourable profession. So I guess part of what we are trying to do at Established & Sons is to reintroduce that concept and potentially inspire a pride and value in something being not only designed, but made in Britain.” © Design Museum designmuseum.org

Starch Chair, 2006 Designer: Max Lamb Pewter Stool, 2006 Designer: Max Lamb Poly Chair, 2006 Designer: Max Lamb Max Lamb, 2006 Max Lamb at work, 2006 Nano Chair, 2006 Designer: Max Lamb

Article 24. Max Lamb Product Designer (1980-) Design Mart - Design Museum Exhibition 20 September 2006 – 7 January 2007 Max Lamb’s chair designs suggest an aggressiveness that is characteristic of the atavistic spirit in design today. In stark contrast to recent ethereal and romanticised design, or designs that transfer directly from computer to machine manufacture without human intervention, Lamb laboriously chisels, buries, grows and smelts materials into rugged and bold forms. A recent graduate of the Royal College of Art, Lamb (1980-) cites both the topography and industrial heritage of his native Cornwall as inspiration for his design methodology. Combining industrial production with handcraftsmanship while fusing high and low technologies, the effect is both raw and intense. Fascinated by the inherent qualities of polystyrene, Lamb first developed a prototype polystyrene stool for his BA degree in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Like many exercises in design reduction, the prototype – literally carved from a single block of polystyrene – was sufficiently resolved that Lamb developed the Polystyrene series during his MA degree in London. The material’s fragility forced Lamb to investigate ways of preserving the shape without sacrificing the piece’s tactility and eventually the Polystyrene series was completed with a polyurethane rubber coating. Whether carving polystyrene, casting luxurious pewter into crude sand formations on a South Cornish beach for his Pewter Stool, combining lost-wax and sophisticated electro-deposition methods for his Copper stools, or extruding biodegradable materials for his Starch stools, Lamb creates visually arresting pieces that have materials and process at their core. It represents a traditional modernist approach to design – technically rigorous with an appreciation of innovative and appropriate materials and production processes – that suggests a need for realism and honesty in the products around us. © Design Museum Q. When did you first become aware of - and interested in - design? A. I’ve had an appreciation of creating and making things since my early childhood. I spent much of it on the beaches of Cornwall building castles and tunnels in the sand, and on my Grandpa's Yorkshire farm building dry brick walls, hay bale dens, and searching for buried horseshoes, glass bottles and broken china. In a tree house named Tremonk I fitted shelves to display my found treasures. I also made a wind-vane in copper that my Grandpa fitted to a barn and still uses today. When forced indoors I occupied myself with Lego, modelling clay homemade using flour, water, vegetable oil and salt, and baking with my Mum. My first visit to the Design Museum was when I was about 15 and the line of classic chairs in the centre of the gallery is still vivid in my memory. I sat on each of them and compared their comfort. In particular I remember Bertoia's Diamond chair, Rietveld's Red, Blue chair and Gio Ponti's super-lightweight Superleggerra chair. This was perhaps my first experience of looking at chairs with a design perspective. I bought the book '1000 Chairs' and only a couple of weeks later my Grandpa bought a chair from a car-boot sale for £2, that he thought I may like. It turned out to be an Eames Aluminium Group Lounge chair from 1967. My love for design, and chairs especially, began then. Q. Why did you decide to study design? A. Designing and making things is what I most enjoyed at school and I always believed that if I studied a subject I loved that I would ultimately end up doing a job I loved. The concept seemed to work. Q. What was the influence of your design education on your work? A. Trevor Duncan, Andy Tennant and Rickard Whittingham whilst in Newcastle upon Tyne, and Martino Gamper and Tom Dixon since being in London. People and friends are always of huge importance. Q. What were your design objectives as a student and how have they evolved since leaving the Royal College of Art? A. I'm not sure that I had any, other than to exploit the freedom as much as possible. Since graduating, I have realised that I love to make things myself, or at least be involved in the making process, and knowledge of materials and processes is invaluable. Most of my work begins with research into both traditional and unconventional materials, and both high and low-tech manufacturing processes. Q. Which of your early projects was most important in defining your approach to work? A. I designed a transforming plywood cube that I named 'Box'. I was focusing on storage boxes for the home environment. I took the cube and began to dissect it in various ways. By hinging the various sections very dynamic forms were achieved, and the cube became unrecognisable. I am not sure if it is the most important piece but I still like it today and use it as a bedside table. I only ever made one but the concept of dissecting existing products, forms and processes appears to maintain through most of my work. Q. How did the design of the Polystyrene chair project develop? A. I’ve had a fascination with polystyrene since my Degree in Newcastle, when I designed a family of nine stools, each using a different material. I realised how important materials were to the personality of a piece of furniture. I visited a polystyrene factory in Gateshead and learnt about the process and material properties, and designed the polystyrene stool, called Mr Poly, accordingly. I thought polystyrene had huge potential for use as a primary material (not just as a disposable packaging material) and it was whilst using a block of polystyrene to model another chair that I decided the rough model was both beautiful and entirely functional in its own right. I then began experimenting with ways of modeling, carving and manipulating expanded polystyrene to form furniture. The softness, light-weight and warmth of polystyrene suggested a chair would be a perfect application for it. The range of Poly chairs and sofas began. I opted to use a claw hammer to produce each chair. It is an extremely quick way of carving unique pieces of furniture with a fantastic, rough, rock-like texture (a texture unachievable with moulded polystyrene). It is also fun and good exercise! Q. How have you developed this in more recent variations? A. My first Polychairs were untreated, and made a ridiculous amount of mess like a burst bean-bag. I decided I wanted to preserve the shape of the chair with some form of coating or upholstery, without losing the soft, tactile texture. The chairs are now coated in a water-based acrylic rubber that is completely water-proof, UV stable, and salt and chemical resistant. The Poly chairs are now as durable as traditional upholstered furniture and are also 100% weather proof. During my research into rubbers I discovered a very fast drying (3 seconds) polyurethane rubber that coats polystyrene perfectly and is extremely durable. It is far more rigid than the acrylic rubber and so I developed a new range of polystyrene chairs that rely upon the rubber coating for strength and stability. The chairs are more traditional in form and function and are fabricated using small blocks and lengths of polystyrene, with joints similar to those on a traditional wood dining chair, rather than being carved from a large block. Before they are rubber-coated, however, they are far from strong enough to be sat upon, but once encapsulated in the rigid rubber they become ‘bomb-proof’, quite literally. Q. If you could have designed any iconic chair in history which one would it be and why? A. Though maybe a typical choice, Poul Kjaerholm’s PK22 chair has to be one of my favourite classics. The combination of a machine made stainless steel frame with beautiful construction detailing and the hand-woven wicker seat and back provides refined decoration. It is a perfect combination.

Shadow Monsters, 2005 Philip Worthington     Shadow Monsters, 2005 Philip Worthington     Shadow Monsters, 2005 Philip Worthington

Article 25 Shadow Monsters Philip Worthington Interactive Designer (1977-) Design Mart - Design Museum exhibition 20 September 2006 – 7 January 2007 Focusing on large scale and tactile interactive experiences that engross and envelope the visitor, Philip Worthington (1977-) created Shadow Monsters, a digital version of the traditional shadow puppet, as part of his degree in Interaction Design from the Royal College of Art. Through a complex interplay of computer graphic and photographic programming, fantastic monsters materialise from the shadows cast by the hands of participants, reacting to and elaborating on their gestures with sound and animation. Wolf-like creatures, birds and dinosaurs are among the characters that speak and squeak as imaginary mouths open and close. ‘Play’ and ‘playfulness’ are words Worthington frequently uses when describing both his work and his approach to interactive design. As the London-based designer says, “it is a platform for experimentation and a space for the imagination to run wild.” His other projects include a digital version of the traditional toy race car track, an online community graffiti network and a colony of digitalised leaf-cutter ants that mimic the behaviours of actual ants as they forage around an interactive tabletop in search of real objects on the surface. Worthington’s designs inject spirit and humanity into our increasingly technologically driven society. However, interaction designers today are not only concerned with the expressive and communicative possibilities of new technologies but also with their social and cultural consequences. The vision recognition software Worthington has written for Shadow Monsters could have applications beyond growling wolves and squawking birds to incorporate graphical commands for the physically disabled. While exploring all available avenues for his truly immersive and interactive designs Worthington continues to make existing and emerging technologies more meaningful and relevant to our lives now. Q. When did you first become aware of – and interested in – design? A. I’d like to say that one day I read an amazing book, or that the work of a particular designer motivated me to pursue this direction, but the truth is that it was never as clearly defined as this. I pay homage to Lego and other toys like it that let creativity flow rather than prescribing it. I strongly believe in the way open-ended play patterns at an early age can influence a person’s thinking (and would like in time to become more involved in this area of design). I’m sure these things helped, and at one point I’m sure I thought I was going to be a spaceship designer. Q. Why did you decide to study design? A. I always liked making things... equally I always liked taking things apart. A split between engineering and art stayed with me through school and it was only after a conversation with my cousin (a PhD in Fine Art) that I decided to give up my place on an engineering degree and try a Foundation in Art & Design. I spent a year trying everything from sculpture to graphic design. The experience was so inspiring that I continued through a number of courses and institutions. I enjoyed the people, the work, and the way of thinking about things. It started a continuous critique in my head of the things and world around me. Q. What was the influence of your design education on your work? A. My design education shifted from pure graphic design, through typography into more mixed-media and interactive work, culminating in large interactive installations at the Royal College of Art. This has all been part of a process that has defined my work and thinking, and I’ve taken elements from every stage with me. Most things I learned by doing them; experimentation… but in the course of all these courses I met some truly inspirational people (both tutors and fellow students) who have given me something to strive to. Q. What were your design objectives as a student? A. To know where I was going. I was always a little jealous of those around me who knew so definitely where they wanted to take their work, seeing clearly the path to get there. As much as I strived to find this in my own work it always seemed a disparate mish-mash of directions. In hindsight I can see a thread of continuity, but at the time I often felt lost. I’m a bit of a perfectionist… I knew I wanted to do it well, but I just hadn’t defined what ‘it’ was. Q. How have your objectives evolved since leaving the RCA? A. I now want to try new things. I work in a strange and ill-defined area of design so I’m always looking for a new way in which to apply myself. My objective is to keep evolving. Q. Which of your early projects was most important in defining your approach to your work? A. I did a project for the ISTD (International Society of Typographic Designers) Awards in 2000 which was a ‘web-zine’ (or at least that was the buzz word used back then). It was my first experiment with interactive media and a real leap into the dark for me, but it won me first prize and gave me the confidence to try more. Since then I’ve experimented with many different technologies and materials. I like playing with new things. I have to remind myself sometimes that they’re just the tools, and not to lose sight of the bigger picture. Having said this, “play is the highest form of research”, said Einstein, and I would have to agree as so many ideas have spawned from mucking about with one gizmo or another. Q. How did the design of the Shadow Monsters project develop? A. The Shadow Monsters grew from a brief about technological magic tricks. I was looking at optical illusions and Victorian hand shadows particularly interested me as a starting point. The subtlety with which a character could be created was already very magical and I wondered if there was room to experiment with these techniques. Looking back to my own childhood, I remembered the feeling of casting huge shapes in the light of my father’s slide projector, creating monsters and silly animals. I enjoy working with simple intuitive things; playful feelings that touch us on a very basic level. At the same time I was experimenting with some software for vision recognition so slowly the monsters evolved. At first I made a puppet show with coloured pencils that had hair and eyes... and this slowly grew in complexity until I had a system that could go some of the way to understanding hand posture. The rest is history. Q. How do you approach the practicalities of design? A. I have less interest in fanciful designs that could never exist for one reason or another. Well, to be fair there is a place for this sort of work, but I prefer to see things in the real world, really working. I’m quite pragmatic as a designer and one of my driving forces when I have the hard slog of a large block of programming or other arduous task is the thought of seeing it completed. I like the feeling when I can press the button and see things come to life. It makes the work worthwhile. Q. What are your future projects and plans? A. I’d like to do something without any computers for a change... perhaps a chair. Hasn’t every designer made a chair? The truth is I’m not sure what the future holds... I’d like to work more with kids. They are my most honest critics, and a demanding audience. designmuseum.org

Richard Sweeney, portrait, © Luke Hayes Richard Sweeney, Folding LIght, © Luke Hayes Richard Sweeney, Folding LIght, © Luke Hayes

Article 26. Richard Sweeney Product Designer (1984–) Designers in Residence – Design Museum Exhibition 12 September – 14 October 2007 Richard Sweeney’s Folding Light series blurs the boundaries of design, art and craft. Combining artisan techniques with complex problem solving skills, Sweeney creates lighting designs based on unique sculptural forms. Sweeney’s designs are investigations into materials, structure and pattern. Inspired by complex geometries and patterns of growth in nature, Sweeney uses simple materials to explore both the handmade and machine manufactured multiple. Sweeney is interested in the intrinsic properties of the medium he is using — “the objects I create have an underlying simplicity of construction that betrays their complex appearance, which is further emphasised by the use of everyday materials, such as paper.” Sweeney produces highly detailed drawings and scale models to explore new forms. He also experiments with computer aided design. The five new lighting designs bring together curved folding with regular geometric solids, such as the dodecahedron, the forms evolving through a process of hands-on modelling and refinement. Constantly challenging his approach to design, Sweeney’s Folding Lights are essentially sculptural, with each piece starting as an exploration into form and ending with a resolved functionality. Now based in Manchester, Richard Sweeney was born and raised in Huddersfield, England. From 2002-03, he studied at Batley School of Art and Design, discovering a natural talent for realising three dimensional form. He went on to study Three-Dimensional Design at Manchester Metropolitan University and graduated in 2007. Past projects include an installation at the DKNY flagship store on Old Bond Street in 2006. Sweeney has received two awards as part of the annual New Designers exhibition. © Design Museum Q. When did you first become aware of – and interested in – design? A. I have always been interested in the way things work and how they are put together. When I was young, the time to get rid of the old TV was a great opportunity; it was time to dismantle it and see all the bits inside before it was thrown away. I was just fascinated by all the little components, and how they all combined so perfectly to create this object. I think it was the start of my obsession with how things are made, which is the basis of design essentially. Q. Where did you study? And why did you decide to study design? A. After college, I studied foundation art at Batley School of Art and Design. It’s here where I really discovered my talent and passion for making, and was able to exercise my obsession for detail. It seemed natural to take this further and I chose to study Three-Dimensional Design at the Manchester Metropolitan University. I saw design as a challenge, something that would combine problem solving and the hands-on making I enjoy so much. Q. What were your design objectives as a student? A. I work best with that which is tangible – physical materials, things I can manipulate and feel with my hands. I always let the material dictate the form it takes, so the shapes I created were sympathetic to the medium at hand. I also took a great interest in new technologies and manufacturing methods, and I strove to find a way to combine the hands-on experimentation with industrial process. Q. How has your design education influenced your subsequent work as a designer? A. At Manchester I was given great freedom. This has led me to take an experimental approach, so I’m not so much concerned with what I’m going to make as how I’m going to make it. For me, the act of making comes first, I like to know how a material is going to behave, and the processes that can be applied to it, then use this to shape the form of the object. Q. What other factors have influenced your approach to your work? A. When I was quite young, I wanted to be an architect, but I didn’t choose to pursue this as I had the feeling it would be too rigid. I chose to continue my studies of art, which I felt offered more freedom. It was my perception of the way I thought architecture would be taught that led me to this decision – when I was told I’d need a great deal of mathematical knowledge, that scared me a bit, as I don’t really have a head for numbers! My interest in architecture, however is still strong, as I have a great admiration for structure, and how this can be shaped not only to solve the physical problem of making a building or bridge stand, but also to create sculptural forms. I’m a great fan of scaffolding and pylons; these are in a sense pure structure, with nothing superfluous about their design – simplicity is something I strive for. Q. Which of your earlier projects was most important in defining your work? A. I think one of the most important projects I undertook was one at Art School, whereby I explored the use of tension as a means to create form. I experimented with string, ropes, elastic bands and all sorts, creating a very large body of experimental works which culminated in the formation of two, large-scale sculptures in laminated wood, about two metres in length. They were held together entirely with string, a chord between each end constraining the pieces into an arch like a taught bow (cutting this chord would result in something of an explosion!). This project really defines my experimental process – letting the material and process define the outcome. Q. How have your objectives evolved since graduating? A. My objectives haven’t really changed, I just want to keep trying new things and see what’s possible. I like to learn new skills, and I consider this an important part of the creative process. Q. Who or what inspires your work? A. As I have mentioned, architecture is a great inspiration to me, but aside from the man-made, I am also inspired by natural forms. It is not so much the organic shapes, but the means by which they are generated that interests me. It makes great sense to borrow from elements from biological structures, as these forms demonstrate the pinnacle of material, structural and functional efficiency. Q. How important is the story behind the work? A. Do objects exist that have no story behind their conception? I cannot see how work can exist without a story, thus I would consider it very important indeed. Q. Where do you see your work going in the future? A. I honestly couldn’t say. If I truly knew where it was going, I think it would defeat the point. Q. How did your design for the Designers in Residence develop? A. The pieces developed from my work in paper, which combine curved folding with regular geometric solids such as the dodecahedron. These are not planned as such, but rather evolve through hands-on modelling and refinement. I use a computer to draw two dimensional layouts, which are folded by hand to create the 3D forms. I also draft these layouts out by hand, but the computer is a powerful tool in that it allows me to perfect these to a high degree of accuracy, while giving greater freedom designmuseum.org

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