Simple Sustainability...

Furniture design graduate Michael Carroll made our shortlist with his work called 'Peggy'. The bench is constructed without the use of glue or traditional fixings, & he has managed to eliminate the need for any unnecessary materials, in a, 'what you see is what you get' perspective on sustainability.

His hand-crafted approach using honest, natural materials really worked for us, & had sensitivity & an industrial edge, which wouldn't look out of place in any domestic or commercial setting...

Paper, Scissors, Stone...

Natasha Stoddard, a graduate designer from Loughborough University caught our eye with her beautifully simple, yet striking ceramic pieces on display... 

We were lucky enough to have a chat with Natasha, & she spoke about starting her design process using pieces of paper to explore the shapes before slip casting. This fragility were certainly evident, which really added to the strength of the overall collection, & her use of tonal colour ticked all the boxes for us...

Fun & Functional...

Our next pick is from Furniture Designer Amy Wallace, a graduate from Bucks New University. Her ethos is all to do with evoking positive emotions from the work she creates, & research into humour & wit led to her final collection...

The craftsmanship & quality in her work has certainly not been compromised, with the construction methods & finishing second to none. They might be bright and breezy in their inception, but the usability and functionality of her work cannot be disputed & we left her stand smiling...

A Lightbulb Moment...

Now, from 2D to 3D with our round-up of our best bits from New Designers Part Two, & a week of furniture & product design...

First up from a very talented bunch is Product Designer & Ceramicist, Charlotte Beer.  Her experimentations with ceramic & resin together have created an unexpected, but happy pairing, to create these modern & bright pieces, & with everyone hand-made, each becomes a one-off, unique creation in its own right...

More than Skin Deep...

University of Bedfordshire graduate Liva Cabule had a great collection of pieces that caught our eye on display at D&AD New Blood, unfortunately we didn't get to me Liva, but having picked up her card, & delving through her website, we had to share some of her lovely fashion illustration with you...

We love the fluidity & softness to the illustrations, but there also feels like a harder edge & darker undertone at work with them too, which makes them much more intriguing...

I'm sweet enough...

We had a lovely chat with graduate Olivia Askaroff, and we had to show the real diversity she displays in her work. 

On show at D&AD New Blood was a small book she had created filled with obscure words, each page pain-stakingly made by hand to include a pull out for each letter of the alphabet...we also loved her 'Counterbet' poster on display, which looked at the negative space created when the letters are removed...and last, but by no means least, was a piece found on her website. A lovely book called 'Sweet Tooth'. Olivia has a food intolerance, which means she can't have anything with sugar in it. She decided to immortalise all the sweet treats she loves, but can't eat, creating this book of gold screenprinted illustrations...they are every-day beautiful...

The Sweetest Thing...

Kirsty Wilkinson also makes our best bits this week, a graduate from Blackpool & Fylde College, her hand-drawn typography mixed with her favourite sweet treats, shows that working with the things you love the most really does pay off...