A shoppable scheme of makers and artisans from across the globe
Manuel Zúñiga1/7Andrés Gutiérrez
Andrés is an interior and - more recently - product designer, based in Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City. He then founded ‘Originario’, a bricks-and-mortar concept design and furniture store in Mexico City.
Andrés says: I decided to make a set with functional and decorative pieces that don't appear to have much in common, but in my opinion they make a very beautiful composition when combined. They are all made by very talented creative Mexican entrepreneurs: a wool weaver, a basketry designer, another who works with papier-mâché, and a couple of Evanist designers. The design scene in Mexico is in a very experimental era and I love that. I feel very proud to be part of this adventurous and risky generation.
- ‘Tláloc’ white oak cabinet, by Andrés Gutiérrez, £7,830, from Originario.
- ‘Estándar’ stained wood chairs (blitz green), by Eduardo Altamirano, £300 each, from Utilitario Mexicano.
- Papier-mâché vase (blue), by Juan Pablo Lascurain, $450,from Muga K.
Manuel Zúñiga2/7Andrés Gutiérrez
- ‘Totem’ walnut console table, £4,010, from Siete.
- ‘Mangrove XL’ woven g’noo xombé nisin fibre sculpture (on table), $400; ‘Artefacto LS 23’ woven g’noo xombé nisin fibre sculpture (on floor), $400; both from Lørdag & Søndag
Joanna Maclennan3/7Anthony Watson and Benoît Rauzy
Atelier Vime began life as an online curation of antique rattan pieces for sale, and founders Anthony and Benoît quickly became famous for their beautifully provençal product photography, shot around their home in Vallabregues. They then turned their attention to creating designs of their own in rattan, all produced in and close to the town of Vallabregues, Provence.
- ‘HB 1’ iron garden armchairs, €1,780 each including cushion in outdoor fabric, from Hervé Baume.
- Cushions in 18th-century Aubusson tapestry pieces, €1,150 for similar, from Atelier des Textiles Anciens.
- ‘Les Vanniers’ linen tablecloth, by Marie-Victoire de Bascher for Atelier Vime, from €600; Fifties vintage glasses, by Biot, €48 each; vintage ceramic bowl (yellow), €220; ‘Provençal’ ceramic plates (green), €52 each; and ceramic side plate (yellow and white), €42; ‘Medici’ ceramic placemat, €55; all from Atelier Vime.
- Bamboo and stainless steel cutlery, €69.80 for set of 6 knives and 6 forks; olive-wood board, €38.40; boxwood salt and pepper mills, €12 each; all from Maison Empereur.
- Napkins in ‘Toile Mistral’ (carbone), cotton, £104 a metre, from Pierre Frey.
- Olive-wood pestle and mortar, by Noomen Labidi, €15, from Le Jardin des Alpilles.
- Cotton tea towel,€14, from Les Olivades.
- Ceramic jug, €45, from Moustique Arles.
Joanna MacLennan4/7Anthony Watson and Benoît Rauzy
- Exterior curtains in ‘Malmaison Rayure’ (rouge), cotton, by Le Manach, £180 a metre, from Pierre Frey.
- Italian 18th-century embroidered green silk curtains, €900 for similar, from Atelier des Textiles Anciens.
- ‘Camargue’ wood and straw large bergère, from €294 with stool, from Lacroix Ébéniste.
- 18th-century Provençal table, €1,450 for similar, from Mémoires d’un Âne.
- 18th-century wooden clock, €4,000 for similar; Forties glass chandelier, €2,000; 18th-century Aubusson tapestry wall hanging, €5,000; all from Galerie Bernard Durand.
- Large 18th- and 19th-century Provençal ceramic vessels, from €500 each for similar, from Mémoires d’un Âne.
- Fifties rope table lamp, by Audoux-Minet, €1,200, from Atelier Vime; with custom-painted lampshade, £1,000 for similar, from Wayne Pate.
- Antique, box-framed entomological specimens, €420, from Mike Sajnoski.
- ‘Indienne’ large cotton scarf (used as tablecloth), €135; ‘Camargue’ small ceramic dish, €35; ‘Florence’ leather sandals (on floor), €210; all from Dou Bochi.
- ‘Arles’ cotton shirt, €70, from Fragonard.
- Straw hat, from Jacquemus; for similar, try ‘Lolita’ straw hat, €340,from Montegallo.
- On stool Provençal melamine tray, €35; ceramic cup, €21; both from Moustique Arles.
- La Cuisinière Provençale book by Jean-Baptiste Reboul, €24.50, from Maison Empereur.
- Wildflower arrangement, by Marie Varenne, €50 for similar, from Fleurs d’Arles.
Cliodhna Prednergast5/7Aoibheann McNamara and Triona Lillis
Aoibheann McNamara and Triona Lillis are the founders of The Tweed Project,a creative label which creates contemporary fashion pieces, cushions and throws made only from Irish fabrics, produced in an Atelier in Galway. Triona also works as a costume designer for film, whilst Aoibheann owns and runs Ard Bia, a restaurant in Galway which sells Irish craft and design pieces.
Triona says:
We shot this on the top floor of my house in Ennistymon, County Clare, which I have been renovating with my partner Gavin Morgan throughout covid. The house is 250 years old and sits on the banks of the Inagh river: an impressive waterfall flows right at our back door. It was great to use the house as a backdrop for the beautiful Irish crafts we chose, as the stonework walls are another tradition we wanted to showcase.
Moving to Clare means we have met a whole new wave of craftspeople and this shoot was a great excuse to knock on their doors and see their bountiful workshops. Hewn Spoons ,who is my new neighbour, has his incredible workshop on the edge of the waterfall in Ennistymon and runs workshops in hand carving spoons as well as selling his pieces online and making special commissioned pieces. This Is What We Do’s handmade knives are a thing of beauty. Our dear friends & part time Tweed Project models Caravanseri included their hardy chopping boards. They run one-day workshops on natural dying, furniture making, handmade tiles as well as week-long workshops on more detailed skills to give you the confidence to start your own project. They are a powerhouse of a movement that really are inspiring.
We also went back to our hometown of Galway to showcase our pal Sarah Jenkins’ beautiful baskets; and Stickman’s stools, which Dan from Coffeewerk & Press sells in his beautiful coffee and design house on Quay St, Galway. Our best gal pal Cliodhna Prendergast was our photographer. We knew it was going to be a bit of craic: great location, great craft, and it was. We love craft and also love the people who make it, and this shoot made us so happy to be showcasing a small but thriving scene in the west of Ireland.- Handmade ash and woven rush stool, €180, from Hewn.
- Ash and woven-rope súgán bench, €420, from Ard Bia.
- Ash three-legged stool with hand-tooled textured surface, by James Carroll, €180, from Stickman.
- Irish wool tweed tasselled cushions (cream/multi), €350 for large and €225 for small, from The Tweed Project.
- Hand-woven Irish willow gathering basket, €240; ‘Aran Kisheen’ hand-woven Irish willow basket, €90; both from Sarah Jenkinson.
- Hand-turned ash plate, by Tony Farrell, £23 for large, from Simple Shape.
- ‘Nakiri’ iron, steel, Irish oak and antique antler Japanese vegetable knife, €550; reclaimed barrel strap, carbon steel, oak and buffalo horn herb chopper/garlic smasher, €400; steel, sandalwood and buffalo horn butcher’s trimming knife, €350; all from Thisiswhatido
Mosako Chalashika6/7Nifemi Marcus-Bello
Nifemi Marcus-Bello is the founder and principal designer of Nmbello Studio in Lagos, Nigeria. Nmbello Studio are multidisciplinary, turning their attention primarily to furniture and product design as well as spatial, conceptual and exhibition design. Nifemi commissioned poet and creative director Lanre Akintujoye to collaborate with him on this project.
Nifemi and Lanre say: Space, time and Lagos - How might we depict contemporary Lagos living through materiality, product and space? Does Lagos living have an identity or is it one that is being formed with the everchanging influx of new identities into Africa's largest city?
Lagos is flair, dust, and raised voices. And somewhere in there, there’s magic. It is a city born of fantasy — that doesn’t always make sense. Capitalism would reduce Lagos to a diminishing currency and struggling economy. Yet, there is something that draws you to its side, that would have you hold its hand and never leave. It is a place of everything and nothing. Things often don't make sense, and still there is much to love.
Lagos design... it's difficult to express what Lagos design is because Lagos is a tough, byzantine city. What we do here is live and survive. We live, survive, and somewhere along the way, beauty (design, art, whatever) happens. Somehow. It is not a cold, unassuming beauty. It is the beauty of toothy laughter and spicy conversation — multidimensional, unapologetic, and incredibly self-aware. Lagos design is simply one output of a beating heart that will do whatever it takes to survive. While not always neat or pretty, there is a truly unique, noisy beauty to be found in the city's audacious will to live despite all else.
Èkó breathing
it’s all life
this noise
of generator hums
and honking cars
the lungs of this place
scream —
desperate to survive -Lanre Akintujoye- Woven plastic floor mats, from £5 each, from Lekki Arts & Crafts Market.
- ‘Chaise Droit’ steel and woven polypropylene fishing yarn chairs, by Iman Design & Decor, £177 each, from Alára.
- ‘The Introvert’s’ steel and raffia chair, £1,200, from Nmbello Studio.
- ‘Mashirbirya’ mvule hardwood side table, £130, from Saba Studios.
- ‘Hollow’ gmelina wood stool, £382, from Àga Culture.
- Hand-painted African wood stool, from £40 for similar, from Lekki Arts & Crafts Market.
- ‘Okwa Ano Mmiri’ abura wood serving bowls, £77 for set of 4;glass decanter (blue with dots), £39; and glass drinking cups, £9 each; all from Àga Culture.
- ‘Eastman’ cotton shirt jacket (deep blue), $180, from Lagos Space Programme.
- ‘Plain Ijebu’ aso oke cotton bucket hat (orange), £38, from Wafflesncream
Andrew Stewart7/7Alexis Hartman
Alexis Hartman is a pattern and textile designer from Seattle. Her textile and wallpaper brand, Lake August, has become famous for beautifully free-flowing depictions of local flowers, from nasturtiums to matilija poppies. Alexis has recently relocated to California, and wanted her selection to represent the designers she has discovered living there.
Alexis says: I recently discovered Nik Gelormino, who creates wood and brass pieces with carvings that bring to mind the enchantment of the natural world: the solar system, unfurling ferns, a forest of mushrooms. I commissioned him to make a switch-plate for this piece. I love Rebekah Miles’ ceramics with their charming plant portraits of Southern California natives, such as poppy and mariposa lily, as well as another ceramics Natan Moss who uses honest materials to make simple, beautiful pottery that feels very Californian in its lightness and look. Fellow textile artist Brook Perdigon, also represented in the UK by Fabric Collective, makes beautiful textiles seen through the lens of California's landscape and colour palette. On the walls, I have featured Adam Zeek’s handmade pieces that are very reminiscent of California Arts & Crafts, and a self portrait by my friend Maurice Harris, which was taken amidst the iconic almond groves of central California, where Maurice grew up.
- Wallpaper, ‘Sunniva’ (Autumn), by Lake August, £205 a 10-metre roll, from The Fabric Collective.
- Curtain in ‘Path’ (chalk), linen, by Brook Perdigon Textiles, £172 a metre, from The Fabric Collective.
- Unique, hand-etched brass switch plate ‘Floral Motif No.1’, by Nik Gelormino, $380, from Another Good Job.
- Photographic print Self Portrait by Maurice Harris, editioned prints from $500, from Bloom & Plume.
- Green wooden picture frame, from Umi.
- ‘Champion Blue’, £27 a litre of regal select, from Benjamin Moore.
- Vintage painted wood table, from $745 for similar, from Dekor Living.
- Hand-carved black walnut mirror, by Adam Zeek, $250, from Northwest of The Nation.
- ‘California Poppy’ ceramic plate, $290, from Rebekah Miles.
- Ceramic ‘Lucia Blue Pitcher, $120, from Natan Moss.
