For this year's London Design Festival and Shoreditch Design Triangle, we gathered a selection of designers from diverse fields and crafts and gave them a unique task. The assignment, handed to this talented crew, was to design and create novel objects utilising off-cuts and leftovers of luxurious Solid Floor timber. While generally considered waste, this material has inherent beauty, not to mention many other uses. The creations reveal the designers' ingenuity, imposed by the limitations of the materials on offer at the time.
Through the exhibition, Solid Floor endeavours to forge long-term relationships with a community of designers who can use this remnant flooring regularly as a medium for their art.
Sculptural mobiles Corrie Williamson (see video top right)
Corrie’s delicate mobiles, suspended from the ceiling, give an interesting twist on timber initially produced for flooring. Various timber off-cuts have been planed to thin slivers, some burnt and further distressed to create interesting textures.
'Chevron’ toy car by Makers Department
This toy celebrates the beauty and simplicity of the wood in the form of a grown-up, oversized toy car - created to be displayed on a shelf. The design is inspired by the original shape of the Landmark Tredegar chevron batten it was made from. Note the detailed wheels and the Chevron Solid Floor engraved name. The car is made with the help of a 3-D printer.
Trivets and Coasters by Mason & Painter
The trivets and coasters are designed and made after Michelle’s recent trip to Seville; designs inspired by the architecture and decorative antique tiles in the Moorish Royal Palace and gardens. The Moorish design juxtaposes nicely with the texture of the Tate Bute timber the objects are made from.
Michelle Mason is a vintage dealer and homewares designer. She is currently hosting a pop-up shop in our EAST showroom on Sundays.
The 'Rohan' chair by Burniture
The Rohan chair came about when a few old oak shelves were donated to Burniture. The design was inspired by Gerrit Rietveld’s ‘Red Blue Chair’ and his book on furniture making. These chairs are a tongue-in-cheek take on flat-pack furniture and can be easily dismantled by and reconstructed to take wherever you see fit. The Rohan Chair is in the process of going into limited production using only reclaimed materials or others that would otherwise have gone to waste. The chair will therefore vary slightly from batch to batch depending on the original source material. Seen here in left-over Landmark Dyrham timber.
‘FLOORA’ Plant stands by Christoph Kurzmann
‘How big are the footprints we leave on the planet? We must Tread Lightly and look after Mother Nature.’ This mantra served as the inspiration behind his creation ‘FLOORA’, a walking plant stand made from remnant Landmark Tredegar timber, and a gentle reminder to protect our planet’s greenery.
Bridge Bench byElla Doran and Blake Joshua
Ella and Blake have previously worked together on a series of benches. Both designers share an interest in challenging the notion of ‘waste’. This piece ‘Bridge-Bench’ made from Solid Floor’s remnant Magma Etna timber as well as Solid Floor’s office wastepaper (used for the 'paper rocks') – takes the task of using the company's waste a little bit further.
Side tables and coaster - Studio Sahil
Studio Sahil's tables, made from Landmark Dyrham leftover timber, can be used together or separately. One features a handy magazine storage pouch. Both pieces feature a handmade Studio Sahil signature glass inset – one side smooth, the other rough. The coasters, made from the textured Tate Bute (see right image on the top of the page), feature a laser-cut pattern revealing the underlying smooth oak.
Unique bench, desk and coffee table by One Little Girl and a Can of Gasoline
As part of its @transformerproject, where metal workshop scrap is transformed into new objects, Can of Gas made this large bench and matching desk. Pale Tate Skye oak timber leftovers were combined with metal remnants from a 1920s lift shaft - reclaimed from a building on Mile End Road 15 years ago. For the coffee table, the same timber is combined with metal from a discarded prop from Circus Space.
