Leather furniture inspired by an old French technique of boiling leather or armour by Tortie Hoare (image: © Ed Reeve www.editphoto.net) |
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New Designers, the annual London showcase for recent design graduates, returned this month for its tenth year. We went to the award ceremony of the second part of the exhibition – dedicated to product, graphic and interior design – to sneak a peek at the designers of the future. The New Designer of the Year award went to Tortie Hoare, a furniture, design and craftsmanship student from Bucks University. Hoare’s boiled leather furnishings appropriated techniques from medieval France but applied them to 21st century designs. Her bold forms are thoughtfully juxtaposed against an ancient yet eco-friendly method of production to create a hybridised style of contemporary craftsmanship. A collapsible and theft-proof bicycle proposed by Kevin Scott of De Montfort University was the runner-up for the top prize. By incorporating a ratchet system into the frame of the bicycle, Scott’s bicycle folds itself around lampposts and can be securely fastened without the need for an external lock or chain. This integrated system is extremely compact when stored and costs less than £500. The New Designers 100% Design award went to James Michael Shaw’s Socket Light & Spun. Shaw, a student at Kingston University, was commended for his clarity of process and strong use of industrial materials. The resulting products – a table, dustpan and brush and a ball-joint lamp – championed the craft of metal spinning, a disappearing British industry that Shaw hopes to resuscitate. New Designers 2010 was showcased at the Business Design Centre, Islington from 08-11 July Runner-up Kevin Scott’s theft-proof collapsible bicycle (image: © Ed Reeve www.editphoto.net) James Shaw’s spun metal products, which won the 100% design prize (image: © Ed Reeve www.editphoto.net) |
Words Manijeh Verghese |
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