Magic Shower Head

Bit of a curveball post for me. Not really my thing and on seeing this initially thought it was in the "we have made something quite rubbish but if we put lights in it people will buy it" bracket.....But, its actually quite interesting. Firstly, its just the shower head, so you are not replacing the whole mixer unit and secondly, the LEDs are powered by the water pressure alone. Not sure how far the light travels down the water, but i feel the experience may be a very pleasant one.
Find out more here.

Ercol Rocker

Must mention my Christmas present from Emma, for the fear that she may think it is not appreciated; it is! I love it! Mine is not stained (like this version) but natural elm and beech. The ergonomics of it; it has really quite steep angled arm rests, means it is perfect for the Sunday papers. Just sit back, rock away and relax with some good reading material. Timeless stuff.
Coincidentally, Emma has just blogged about my other Christmas present, a nice Nigel Peake book.

Sharpening

Slightly geeky post today, so one for the workshop heads. Two very treasured, daily used items in the workshop are my Japanese chisels and Veritas block plane. They are truly beautiful to use and also very easy on the eye. I have had the chisels for years and have frankly not had to do much too them, apart from the odd lick in the way sharpening because they keep their edge so well. But i recently cut them back and purchased the Mark 2 Veritas honing guide plus some King Japenese Waterstones for the final sharpening. Neither are cheap, but the guide is so good to use, with a really straight forward combined blade squaring register and angle checker. In the past honing guides have been flawed, but this works.  The best woodwork in Japan is unrivaled; the thought and process is appreciated, deliberated over, then finally (finely) executed, and the Waterstones fit into this philosophy. Being far softer than a diamond sharpener there is the likelihood of a blade digging in, so they may need re-honing themselves occasionally. But if you keep it slow and steady, the finish is like a mirror, and frighteningly sharp.

Musical Drawer

This was made last summer but does not feature on the website anywhere so thought it should have an outing. Tim and i made this musical drawer as an initial sketch and are planning to make more musical furniture. Instead of new constructions i think the use of old wardrobes/drawers etc might be a better way to go about it.

Martino Gamper

Martino Gamper's work really interests me; a lot is very sculptural, but he also does formal composition, some of it is very delicate but he also likes to make a mess. Have a look at the 100 days in 100 days project, i think the physical energy put into this has really translated into the form of the hybrid objects. I can imagine some of them being finished late at night after strong coffee, looking nervy and shaky, whilst others are serene and considered. Gamper likes the action of making, it is not covered up, he has even taken his tools into gallery spaces to construct or alter objects. There is real dynamism in some of it, but other pieces are designed to just sit in the corner of the room. I think the key to it is the sketchbook attitude, not to be too precious, and see what happens.

Cubelight

Just a quick one to lift the gloom of the last post, with this very friendly, happy looking creature by Fagerstrom & Abrahamsson, which Emma came across recently.

Design Real

I always intend this blog to be positive, concentrating on good things, but i today i fear it may not happen. It all starts well enough at the design-real show at the Serpentine Gallery; nice broom, interesting bed.... but then its starts going wrong.  The exhibition is pitched so highly in the accompanying literature..."groundbreaking presentation of  contemporary design"..."'real' items all conceived in the last decade: mass produced products that have a practical function in everyday life" ...and it just does not deliver.  A Lamborghini spoiler, a digital trumpet and yet another reworked Herman Miller office chair; "'real' and practical"? maybe for supercar drivers who work in executive offices. And there are more automotive related objects, a taillight, body armour for motorcyclists, economy class seats, even Sebastian Wrongs' mirror is an oversized rear view mirror. You cannot have these objects sat next to a rolling water carrier, presumably designed for a struggling country, probably in Africa, suffering the ill effects of climate change. It's ill considered. There are some very correct/good choices, the one laptop per child for example, it is interesting to see manufacturing robots in a gallery setting, up close. The problem is the brief, Grcic (the curator) must have felt it was too obvious to include an ipod in the show,  but it should be. Once you have made an concious decision to omit THE most iconic (yet accessible) product of the last ten years,  the brief..  "highlighting objects that have had a significant impact on our lives"..is void, the show is flawed, and you may as well do something else instead.
Oh, a good thing - its free to get in!

Big Brother

 

I am hoping to develop these initial ideas for a extending dining table soon. Its a commissioned project that will normally be used as a desk and dining table but needs to extend to accommodate about fourteen people for dinner parties. I see it as an older brother to my cut corner coffee table, using the oversized formica slab top and walnut legs again, but at dining table height. The asymmetry is gone as it has to be pretty sturdy in its extended form. Its grown up, more formal but i want to keep the level of finish quality at maximum, because i think with its scale, (its big), it will have a really good, strong presence.

Alf Smythers

Combining three of my favorite things; wood, sailing and seafood, the Alf Smythers is a brilliant machine. Boat building and furniture making are not similar, the rules and aesthetics that apply to one are alien to the other. In boats for example, the good, hard, expensive wood is used for the frame and the planking is of lesser quality, where as you (very nearly) always use show off the better quality timber in furniture. In traditional cabinet making you may allow for expansion and contraction due to atmospheric conditions by the use of a sliding dovetail for example. But with boats, the entire construction has to be able to move and twist in heavy seas, its has to have a certain flexibility and the amount of fine work to allow for this is astonishing (these boats can take years to build). Furniture is obviously static, and whilst boats could be used to just sit on and bob around, the addition of sail and rope turns them into something very different. The Falmouth working boats are now mainly used in a recreational way, but Ranger dredges for oysters on the Alf Smythers in the traditional, two hundred year old way, on three tons of wood with some cloth and rope. And yes, the oysters are amazing.

Krumnikl Environment

New desk by Kevin Krumnikl. He normally works with more formal composition, keeping things simple. Although i think the cow theme to this desk is somewhat overt and telegraphed, i still like the form and the detailing. The large black wireframe edging is very well proportioned and the leg taper goes to virtually nothing. Personality within form and furniture is a very fine line, obviously you want the designs to be emotive, to feel right for the client but you also dont want to give everything away at the first glance. Just feel that this piece should have been photographed in a very different, less obvious way.

Granada Performing Arts Centre

I have been away fitting recently hence the lack of posts so a few quick fire entries to get back up to speed.
Really like this model for the proposed performing arts centre in Granada by Kengo Kuma. The designs are all really well considered but i also found this mesh sculpture, something much more transient and less defined. Like the ghost of old building.

Door Numbers

Another thing that's been in my brain for a while but now coming along in reality. A wooden box, mounted by the front door, providing illuminated door numbers at night. I like that fact it needs no wiring or power but my main reasons for the design are emotional. Ideas of a welcome, feelings of pride and identity.
An integral solar panel charges during the day, automatically switching on a backlit panel at dusk. The numbers being stencilled onto the inside of the glass front.

Change at the RCA

Head of Design Products at the RCA must be one the most influential positions in the furniture/product world. Tord Boontje is now in his second term, replacing Ron Arad after over a decade at the helm. The resurgence of the crafts and decorative design over the past couple of years has been very evident and the oppointment of Boontje, on initial looks at least, seems to echo this trend. But whilst the designs draw on natural form, being very emotive, most of the techniques in production are actually very high tech, and very finely executed. From the bold Arad to the ethereal Boontje, it will be interesting to see how the students output is influenced and affected.

Studiomama

The new WOI landed on my doorstep this morning; this months feature, the currently very trendy,  trestle table. Trestles are so useful, especially in the classic london small flat scenario, where you want to have a dinner party but have no room for a solid dining table. I also use a pair in the workshop all the time.

The problem being, (until now), is that when the do not have a top on, they just sit in the corner of a room looking, well, like a pair of trestles. Nina Tolstrup, whom i featured with in 'Book a table' at The Rocket gallery last year, solves the problem with her "1 x "1 trestle set. When not in use, you could light them, stack books on them, hang stuff from them, or just enjoy their pure sculptural form. I think they are extremely good.

(The 5th one reminds me of Tims game; see 'crazy legs' blogpost.)

24 colours - for Blinky

A few years ago I visited Dia-Beacon, in upstate New York. Well worth the trip if you are ever in NYC. It was this time of year,  the landscape was white, (the river was even frozen) and I wish I could check out the Imi Knoebel colours there today. I am sure they really pop in that environment. Good reference and inspiration regarding the colours for the new stool.

Festool

Festool make amazing power tools, i swear by them. I have one of their extractors camped beside my bench into which i can plug my router, sander, jigsaw, circular saw, etc providing brilliant dust removal. The range is huge but everything is designed to be interchangeable wherever possible. The 'Domino' jointing system provides a mortise and tenon scenario in seconds and is a dream when it comes to clamping up. I have two of the 12V Cordless drills for which you can get a vast array of attachments, bits, drivers and chucks. Guide rails allow for pinpoint sawing and routing. All machines come in Systainer boxes which can all stack up, clip together, even get put on the extractor and wheeled to site.

Yes, they are expensive, but you should always spend as much as you can possibly afford on tools. And if you are using machines everyday,  the difference this stuff makes is huge, not just in performance but also in ease, ergonomics, interchange and even health. Clever stuff.

However, they are very well suited to my working practices, which generally involves 80% workshop time and 20% on-site fitting.  If i was drilling into brick walls five days a week, then an 18V Makita would probably be in my toolbag instead.

Toucan Tools is a good place to buy festool (and loads of other good stuff).

The Boathouse

Frustrating times, work wise at least. Next phase of the new Cornwall workshop is currently at a crawl and driving to London to look after things that end seems frankly dangerous and foolish. However, when there is wood, there is always a blog post  -  even if all it involves is sitting around a pile of the stuff burning, down the local. Nice!  

Version 2

Introducing the stool which will be the second example to get the casting treatment. The basic premise being; find an old, battered stool, not fit for its intended purpose. Take an exact cast of it, recast in a new material thus preserving the shape/details perfectly but making a totally new useable object.

I really like the first version, (you can see them on my website), but it is top heavy, which is exaggerated when recast in resin and i find it a little small.

So, this is the new one, the Elm top is possibly late 1700's, i think the legs are replacements, but still very old. The weathering is amazing, it has a real ancient feeling, its really well balanced and a good height (380mm). Going to try and get the mould made this month.

Dieter Rams

One of the current exhibitions at the Design Museum features Dieter Rams, head designer at Braun for an eternity.

Still influencing contemporary product designers, (Jonathan Ive for one), i think this should be well worth a look.

Higher Market Studio

Been meaning to mention Lucy, from Higher Market Studio for a while. Lucy has a unit next to the workshop as well as her shop.

Really nicely done re-purposing of old, broken G-plan type stuff. Knackered veneers are replaced with formica which is laser cut, with different graphics. The new inlaid work is interesting, with much more creative scope and should be on the her site soon.