August Ford – New Young Designer
Recently we had an enquiry from August Ford, a third year furniture design student at Kingston University.
He was preparing for his final show and had created a prototype armchair. He approached us for advice on how to complete this new design.
We met at our Stoke Newington workshop on a Saturday morning, I was immediately impressed not only by his design but by his obvious talent and enthusiasm for furniture, design and making. Being involved with this project took me back to when I would create scaled down versions of my own designs which eventually led me to attended the London College of Furniture to study upholstery.
August’s approach to a typical problem, space (or the lack of) coupled with the annual nomadic life of students in digs, brought about this ingenious fully functioning and comfortable arm chair, that could easily be collapsed and moved. By the time I became involved he had ironed out any design issues, so for me it was simply a matter of finessing the finished product to exhibit in his final show.
It took us two long Saturdays to complete. We had to change one or two aspects in terms of ease of production, but what we ended up with is exactly what he had designed. August rolled up his sleeves and was completely involved in production process from start to finish. Having spent the time together and working out how best to take the design to a finished article, I can be sure that if he continues in the industry, August will have a bright future, undoubtedly making a good name for himself.
It was an absolute pleasure to work on this project and I wish August all the luck in the future and can’t wait to see what he does next!
The chair will be exhibited 5 – 8 July 2017 at the New Designers Exhibition, Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, London, N1 0QH.
