My first project for my final year was to design a workplace for my own brand and practice.  We were given a site just outside the centre of Bristol, which was an ‘unlisted building of merit’.  It used to house a Co-op for many years, but most recently it was a bookbinders.  Many of its original features were still intact and I felt it was important to preserve them and be sensitive to them whilst considering my design concept.  A large oak staircase had once been the focal point on entering the building, so I decided to give it a new lease of life.  A rope stair rail ‘binds’ the two floors together.

In writing my own brief I chose for my practice to be a design studio with an emphasis on making.  This would include a fabrication area for experimentation and production of bespoke pieces of furniture and lighting, to coordinate with the clients design scheme.

 

 

 

I designed the lower level as a fully functioning fabrication workshop, to include wood working, concrete, electrical and ceramic areas.  The upper level had street access and large shop front windows, perfect for the face of the brand.  I specified Vitra Hack desks as they’re so versatile and allowed for the space to become flexible, dependant on individual needs.  I wanted the public to view the practice as a lively hub of activity and not a stereotypical office environment.  The windows also allowed for plinth displays of previous work.

 

 

 

 

 

I was lucky enough to meet with the bookbinder who had worked there.  He was a font of knowledge and much of the inspiration for my designs came from the materials and techniques he used.  As a designer/maker I find I am initially drawn to materials and it is often the experimentation with these that leads to my overall designs.

 

 

Above: Example of Japanese stab stitch.  I used this technique to bind the plywood edges of a stool designed for my workplace.  The plywood is staggered and references the pages of a book.

 

 

 

 

Experimentation with papercrete led me to design these scroll shaped pendants, for a lighting installation as you enter the studio.  I used an acrylic former to help keep their shape with the addition of plaster of Paris and waxed thread detailing.  The light really emphasises their textural quality.

 

 

 

The material palette for my design features ebony stained plywood, tan leather, brass, felt, ‘Cromarty’ No.285 by Farrow & Ball and plaster of Paris/printed text/ash wall finish.