The CDW Award at New Designers 2025 recognises her innovative, sustainable craftsmanship – from the playful Marionette stool developed with Ercol to the bold, waste-redefining Recoil lighting collection
Ele Harper-Colman is a new designer from West Sussex who is focused on craft and the importance of handmade products. She is keen to show that design through making can be accessible to everyone, wanting to create community through her work. A fresh Kingston University graduate, Ele’s projects display her interest in sustainable making through reuse as well as exploration into different new materials. Having completed practical and more conceptual projects she pushes boundaries to bring her creative image into everything she does.
Developed through a live industry brief with Ercol, Marionette is a bright and playful stool that offers a new interpretation on space saving furniture. Constructed with turned ash legs and a CNC machined seat, the stool can be quickly assembled by stretching the bungee cord loops into the slots on the legs. When not in use, the craftsmanship can be admired on the corresponding wall peg, offering a great storage solution for those who live in smaller spaces and love considered design.
Climbing rope is a strong and durable material, but once it is retired there is not a lot that can be done with it. Recoil is a project that explores how we can get the most out of this high quality waste stream by utilising its structure and unique colours to create new lighting designs. Each floor lamp is made of organic forms created by the use of the innovative S-shape steel wire bending. The options with Recoil are endless.
See Ele during Clerkenwell Design Week 19-21 May 2026. Visitors can register for a free ticket at clerkenwelldesignweek.com
Photography courtesy of Ele Harper-Colman
