weathering, london design festival 2014
DESCRIPTION
Weathering - an exhibition of work from contemporary Irish designers and craftspeople presented by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland at Tent London as part of London Design Festival 2014.TRANSCRIPT
Design and Craft from Ireland
DCCoI at Tent London 2014 The force of the wild Atlantic cuts and contours the island of Ireland; shaping its landscape, its people and their ways. This constant process of change creates new from old, exposing beauty and ruggedness, strength and fragility. Rooted in a heritage that has evolved over centuries, contemporary Irish design and craft continues to be shaped by three key forces – materials, landscape and people. Vernacular traditions endure and respect for local materials and the inspiration of place remain inherent in the work. Reflecting an openness amongst designers and makers to learn from each other, new collab-orations are developing and result in beautiful objects that fluidly combine contemporary ideas and traditional techniques. Architect and product designer Andrew Clancy’s work with boat builder Matthew O’Malley, and Horizon Furniture’s engagement with fifth-generation Donegal weavers Molloy & Sons both illustrate this respect for tradition combined with fresh imagination. Weathering is presented by the Design & Crafts Council of Ireland at Tent London as part of London Design Festival 2014 and builds on the story and explorations of Vernacular (LDF 13) and A Place to Gather (LDF 12). Curated by Steven McNamara, Weathering has been designed as a thing of beauty in itself but its role is also to present a commercial and economic opportunity. Including the work of over 25 contemporary Irish designers and makers, Weathering offers a snapshot of the vibrant design and craft sector in Ireland today, which employs thousands of people across the island and which will be promoted and celebrated nationally and internationally through the upcoming Irish Design 2015 initiative.
31 Chapel [email protected] Chapel Lane provide beautifullycrafted, organic linen products usingsustainable, high quality materialswoven in Ireland. Established by Cavannative and architect, Damien Hanniganand his Australian partner, Joy Fu; theysource their materials from a handful oftweed and Irish Linen Guild approvedweavers throughout Ireland.
Andrew [email protected] Ludick’s distinctive piecesevolve from an intuitive process ofcoiling and pinching clay. This slowprocess of coil building and themeditative aspects of pinching the claytake him into a space that allows anatural progression to happen, wherethe form seems to build itself.
After the form is built it is decoratedusing shapes, patterns and colours thatcomplement it. The final piece is coveredin a clear transparent glaze, which givesthe depth of colour that is such anintegral element of his work.
Ceadogán [email protected] by Denis Kenny, CeadogánRugs is dedicated to pairing the traditionalvalues of remarkable craftsmanship andof contemporary design. ↗
In collaborating with a variety of designers, Ceadogán strive for continualinnovation and originality. It is Denis’meticulous care and attention to detailwhich truly distinguishes a Ceadogán rug.Over the past 25 years he has amassed a wealth of experience in working withwools and silks, in mastering and pushingthe boundaries of the techniques in hiscraft and in developing creative designpartnerships.
Cillian Ó Súilleabhá[email protected] Ó Súilleabháin started his careeras an engineer before discovering hisskill and passion for contemporaryfurniture design. It is perhaps this careerevolution that has influenced theminimal, geometric aesthetic of his work.
Having trained and worked with some ofIreland’s leading furniture designers andmanufacturers, he established his ownstudio in 2011. Since then he has won avariety of awards for design andcraftsmanship, and has exhibitedextensively.
Cushendale Woollen [email protected] on a millrace of the River Duiske,Cushendale Woollen Mills is a family-runbusiness in rural Kilkenny that stretchesback five generations, crafting natural-fibre textiles in mohair, Irish wool andmerino lambswool. Cushendale dyes,cards, spins and weaves their own yarnbut more importantly, consistently usethese skills to develop new productsand designs. Their pure water supply,taken from the River Duiske, is the mill’smost valued natural resource and one ofthe principal reasons why they canproduce textiles of such distinctivecolour and texture.
Déanta Design (Andrew Clancy)[email protected] by the heritage of making onthe island of Ireland Déanta Design(which was established in early 2014 byAndrew Clancy) is committed to makingbeautiful objects which are of their timeand yet informed by tradition.
Educated as an architect, Andrew set upClancy Moore Architects with ColmMoore in 2006. His Strand Lamps wereofficially launched as part of the Design& Crafts Council of Ireland’s exhibitionVernacular at LDF2013 – where theywon a Design 25 Award.
Derek Wilson Ceramicswww.derekwilsonceramics.comstudio@derekwilsonceramics.comBased in Belfast, Derek Wilson is agraduate of the University of Ulsterwhere he completed an MA in AppliedArts. His studio practice focuses on arange of hand thrown porcelaintableware and a range of sculpturalobjects.
Derek has exhibited extensivelythroughout the UK and Ireland and waspreviously selected and featured inWallpaper magazine’s Handmade Milanexhibition.
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Overleaf:Tierney Haines with Alan Meredith
1 Print Block2 Scott Benefield3 Nest Design4 Andrew Ludick5 Makers & Brothers with Matt Jones6 Horizon Furniture (Fergal O’Leary)
with Molloy & Sons7 Cushendale Woollen Mills8 Ceadogán Rugs9 Déanta Design (Andrew Clancy)
with Matthew O’Malley10 Jack Doherty11 Stickman (James Carroll)12 Shane Holland Design13 Glenn Lucas14 31 Chapel Lane15 Joe Hogan
Glenn [email protected] of form, precision and beautyare the trademark of each piece createdby master woodturner Glenn Lucas.Colour and grain are chosen carefully tocomplement the design of each piece.
Glenn’s bespoke work has featured inexhibitions in Ireland, the UK and the US.His classic salad bowls, turned by handfrom Irish native wood, transcendfunctionality, bringing a sense of luxuryto a normally everyday item.
Horizon Furniture (Fergal O’Leary) [email protected] Furniture is a vibrant, awardwinning furniture design andmanufacture practice in Cork, Ireland.Designer Fergal O’Leary creates cool,calm and collectible furniture andHorizon Furniture manufactures hisdesigns in-house, focusing on highquality materials and finish.
Founded by Fergal in 2008, HorizonFurniture’s ethos is simple – to makefurniture with an understated modernaesthetic, that has that extra somethingto make it stand out from the crowd.
J. HILL’s [email protected]. HILL’s Standard is a maker ofcontemporary cut crystal objects, craftedby hand, using centuries-old knowledgepassed down through generations ofskilled craftsmen.
Jack [email protected] Doherty is passionately involvedwith ceramics. An accomplished potter, designer, lecturer, author, editor and artist both he and his work arerecognised internationally.
Joe [email protected] Hogan makes both functional andsculptural or artistic baskets. His homeand landscape have had a profoundinfluence on the style and diversity ofhis work, encouraging him to exploreand develop new designs.
Hogan values the repetition and thefluency developed through creatingfunctional baskets. The pieces featuredin Weathering, are functional and reflectthe diversity of willow varieties inHogan's willow plantation. In 2012Hogan was selected for the LivingLegends programme at the World CraftsCouncil Summit.
The Local Maker Co.(Benny Magennis)[email protected] Magennis is a designer maker,who creates and produces simplehandmade craft furniture from hisworkshop in the north-east of Ireland.Having graduated fromBuckinghamshire New University inContemporary Furniture & ProductDesign and worked in London, hereturned to Ireland and founded TheLocal Maker Co. in 2013.
Makers & Brotherswww.makersandbrothers.comjonathan@makersandbrothers.comMakers & Brothers, founded by brothers,Jonathan and Mark Legge, offers anarray of products by designers andmakers from all over the world. Their in-house design team actively work withlocal Irish makers to develop andproduce new work. Through thiscollaborative approach they explore Irishcraft, tradition and process.
For Weathering they have worked withSligo based woodturner, Matt Jones onthe Peppermill Series. Matt believes thatunderstanding the internal forces ofwood – its ability to move and breathe –is a vital part of his craft.
Molloy & [email protected] on the solid foundations of a richheritage spanning five generations, theMolloy family have been in the textilebusiness in Donegal since the 19thcentury. Renowned for the quality, colourand beauty of their tweed Molloy & Sonsare synonymous with what greatcraftsmanship is today.
Their wealth of knowledge, skill andexpertise comes through from theirancestors and con tinues to live on in themodern techniques which they embrace.
Muriel [email protected] Beckett discovered weaving whilestill at art college in Ireland and went on to study advanced textiles in Finland.Soon after returning to Ireland Muriel setup studio and began taking on commis-sions for rugs and tapestries.
Over the years she has built upextensive experience both in terms ofher skill in designing and making, and inworking collaboratively with designers,specifiers and clients.
Nest Designwww.nest-design.com [email protected] and Annabel McCarthy establishedNest Design with the aim of breakingnew ground in crafted timber furniture.Their decision to work in small serieshas resulted in a rich and constantlychanging exploration and testing of newmethods, such as the use of jesmoniteand resin inlays. Both Neil and Annabelstudied Furniture Design and Making atRycotewood College, Oxfordshiregraduating in 1998. Nest Design wasoriginally established in Cork and is nowbased in south west France. They workmainly to commission and for exhibitionproducing one-off pieces and limitededitions.
Print [email protected] Block is not-for-profit organisationand is operated voluntarily by a group oftextile artists and designers who workenthusiastically with a shared vision todevelop the Irish textile printing industry.
Designers and founders include LizNilsson, Jennifer Phelan, Liz Walsh, OlgaTiernan, Ruth Doorley, Caroline Ryan andUrsula Celano.
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Scott [email protected] Benefield’s work descends fromthe Venetian traditions of glassblowing,which utilise the most essential aspectsof glass: transparency, saturated colourand most importantly, fluidity.
In particular he uses the basic languageof cane techniques (filigrana, zanfirco,reticello) to create complex patterns inglass that help describe the contours ofthe vessel in a graphic way.
Shane Holland [email protected] Holland designs and producesfurniture and light fittings from a widerange of materials including timber,metals and acrylics.
He uses recycled materials wherepossible, and has recently begun toincorporate found objects into his work,such as the bottles used in his Rieslingand Borscht chandeliers, and the castiron weights used in his 686 table.
[email protected] their workshop in Snugboro, Co. Wicklow, Conor and Nell run Snug.Celebrating design that is playful,functional and crafted, they believe that you can have well designed Irishproducts, at affordable prices while stillusing quality materials.
All their products are designed with thismind, creating well-crafted and designedfurniture that will sit comfortably in any home. Snug creates pieces that aremade with care and built to last.
Stickman (James Carroll)[email protected] maker James Carroll createshand crafted furniture pieces from his workshop in the Wicklow Mountains.He has an instinct for seeing the potentialbeauty in items and materials oftendiscarded or passed over by others.
Using traditional Irish craftsmanshipexecuted to the highest standard, he brings these pieces to life. Throughmeticulous attention to detail, combinedwith quirky and original finishing touches,he infuses a sense of energy into hiswork, giving pieces back their soul.
Tierney Haines Architects(Stephen Tierney)[email protected] Tierney studied History of Art and History in Dublin and Romebefore Architecture in London (Bartlett) and California (SCI-Arc). Stephen worked in architecture and animation in London with James Gorst Architectsand Ian Ritchie Architects and nowtutors at University College DublinSchool of Architecture. ↗
Stephen shares a design practice, Tierney Haines Architects, with his wifeNicola Haines.
Prototypes for Weathering were made in collaboration with Alan Meredith Studio (www.alanmeredith.ie).
Úna [email protected] winning designer, Úna employstraditional leather-working techniques to produce both fashion accessories andfigurative art pieces. Each piece, whetherfor the body or the home, pushes the boundaries of design and challengesexpectations.
Timeless, elegant and sculptural, Úna’s work is designed for the discerningcustomer who appreciates qualitycraftsmanship and creativity.
The Irish Handmade Glass Company ismade up of a group of master craftsmenwith a combined total of over 130 yearsexperience. Based in the historic heartof Waterford City they aim to bring thecraft of glass making to life.
[email protected] is a Dublin-based designstudio that was established in 2009 byAnna Strzelecka and Robert Skoczylas.They create objects that are easy to use,but that convey personality and meaning,and are often capable of surprise.
Both Anna and Robert were born in Poland and studied architecture inKrakow. In 2013 their Module table (that featured in the Design & CraftsCouncil of Ireland’s show Vernacular)won a Design 25 Award, at LondonDesign Festival.
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16 Woodenleg17 Molloy & Sons18 Snug19 Muriel Beckett20 J. HILL’s Standard21 Úna Burke
with The Irish Handmade Glass Company22 Derek Wilson23 Cillian Ó Súilleabháin24 The Local Maker Co. (Benny Magennis)
Curatorial Statement Weathering and the stripping back of excess, can be seen as the slow process makers undergo to unearth and express an object’s essence, revealing its true potential and natural beauty. Each revelation is a development in the story that emerges from the initial exchanges between maker, object, material and landscape. Irish craft, by virtue of its quality, is durable and usable. Over time, the user can develop a fuller appreciation and understanding of the object. In many cases, the actual colours and shapes of the objects change, moulding themselves to their user, while the user adapts their habits to the object. The exhibition design for Weathering investigates layering in terms of use. The linen screens, which add an element of discovery while allowing for smaller curated groups, have been constructed out of screen-printing frames, intended to be reused as such in the future. The understated plinths, simply slotted together, can be easily disassembled, transported and stored, ready for subsequent use. The ambition behind the design of Weathering is to create an exhibition which, like the objects it contains, will evolve over time and have lasting value. It promotes design that fulfils the requirements of the present, while considering how it can meaningfully contribute to the future.
Steven McNamaraCurator & Exhibition Designer
Design & Crafts Council of Ireland The Design & Crafts Council of Ireland
(DCCoI) is the main champion of the design
and craft industry in Ireland, fostering its
growth and commercial strength, communicating
its unique identity and stimulating quality
design, innovation and competitiveness. It is
funded by the Department of Jobs, Enterprise
and Innovation via Enterprise Ireland.
Irish Design 2015Irish Design 2015 (ID2015) is a year long
programme with a wide array of signature
events as well as promotional and celebration
activities. ID2015 will be an exciting
showcase of the best of Irish design and will
be delivered and managed by DCCoI. Supported
by the Irish government, the overall
objective of the year is to sustain and
create employment opportunities, sales and
export potential for the Irish design
sector, by encouraging investment in design
as a key component of competitiveness
and innovation and by showcasing Irish design
nationally and internationally during 2015.
www.irishdesign2015.ie
Exhibition LocationWeathering
Hall T4-B, First Floor, Old Truman Brewery
Hanbury Street, London E1 6QR, United Kingdom
Curator / Exhibition DesignerSteven McNamara
www.rojidesigns.com
Press EnquiriesUK: Ciara Phillips, Sandford PR
[email protected] / +44 (0)75 8490 2347
Ireland: Emma Kelly, Elevate PR
[email protected] / +353 (0)1 662 5652
Sales EnquiriesNicola Doran
Retail Programme Manager, [email protected] / +353 (0)86 824 3786
DesignAtelier David Smith
www.atelier.ie
PhotographySean and Yvette Photography
www.seanandyvette.com
Print and ProductionPlus Print, Dublin
www.plusprint.ie
Design & Crafts Council of Ireland Castle Yard, Kilkenny, Ireland
T. + 353 (0)56 776 1804
www.dccoi.ie
Tent London18—21 September 2014
Design & Crafts Council of Ireland, Castle Yard, Kilkenny, Irelandwww.dccoi.ie