THE WORDS “bespoke” and “bargain” generally do not go hand in hand. But a bespoke bargain is exactly what you can get your hands on at this year’s New Designers show. Here’s how.
Now in its twentieth year, New Designers is the largest and longest-running graduate design show in Britain. For a couple of weeks the Business Design Centre in Islington, North London, is knee-deep in designers with the potential of Tom Dixon, Cath Kidston or Jasper Morrison, who have all made a name for themselves.
You can’t move for talent. About 4,000 design graduates are showing their wares. For them it is a bridge from university to work; for us it is a chance to get them while they are hot and relatively cheap.
Almost everything on display is for sale. You can walk away with ceramics, textiles or (if you are feeling strong) furniture. The fashion graduates will literally sell the clothes from their backs. And you won’t find any of these pieces anywhere else — yet. It is a great opportunity for a bit of design one-upmanship.
Marcus Sharp, 21, is about to graduate in furniture design from Loughborough University. He has made a range of witty conceptual chairs based on childhood memories.
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“Re/cycle is based on the seat from a chopper bike,” he says. “Rock on Rock is actually part of a seesaw on a new rocking base. I am trying to evoke feelings, so these chairs are probably more comforting than comfortable.”
Re/cycle is £300 and Rock on Rock £250. Like most of the designers here, Sharp also does commissions. “I would find out what the chair was for — dining or whatever — and where in the home it would sit,” he says. “Then we would choose materials and agree a budget starting at about £200. It would take around three months to get the finished product.”
Try finding something that original in Ikea.
Running in tandem with New Designers is One Year On, an opportunity to see new work from last year’s graduates. Sponsored by the Crafts Council, this initiative is characterised by slightly more commercial pieces. These designers have spent a year in the big bad world and know what does and does not sell.
Kamini Chauhan, 27, graduated from the Royal College of Art last year with an MA in ceramics and glass. Like Sharp’s chairs, her Spinny vases move about a bit. “When you blow glass it tends to go bulbous,” she says.
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“Instead of controlling it I just let the base assume this organic form. When you add water and flowers it rolls slightly but does not spill.” Priced at £95, they are available in ice blue, ice green and ghost white.
Chauhan’s love of flowers inspired the designs for another vase — Ikebana. “Most flowers die after two weeks and the vase gets put away or sits empty,” she says. “Ikebana has stems of glass which you arrange among the flowers so that even when they die the vase is still beautiful.”
The amount of work that goes into blowing and shaping and perfecting each vase is reflected in the price: £400. But think of the money that you will save on flowers.
Arum Han, 24, has been designing for the John Lewis chain since graduating from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London last year. As part of One Year On she is showing her Psychinature range of textiles.
“They are a combination of 1960s psychedelic, architecture and nature,” says Han. They are sort of future florals. Rather than being trippy, the patterns are refined and elegant if a little cold. This is compensated for by fabrics that are warm and tactile.
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“I made them very comfortable using top quality wool, felt and cotton,” she says. Such quality does not come cheap. Han’s upholstered chair is £2,450. Count me in for a cushion.
Most of the work on show at New Designers is much more affordable, and it is all strikingly original. Who knows, your prized purchase or individual commission could become a classic. Even if it does not, you definitely have a bargain.
Marcus Sharp 07800 685407 marcusthomassharp@hotmal.com ; Kamini Chauhan 07720 431777 kamini@kaminichauhan.com; Arum Han 07789 656711 Arumhan1@hotmail.com
New Designers (featuring One Year On) runs in two parts.
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Part 1: June 30-July 3. Contemporary applied arts; ceramics and glass; fashion, textiles and accessories; jewellery and precious metalwork
Part 2: July 7-10. Illustration and animation; furniture design; graphic design and interactive media; product design; spatial design (architecture, interior design, theatre design and modelmaking); photography. Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, London N1. Tickets from £6.95, contact 08701 222891 or www.newdesigners.com