Everyday Encounters

Society of Designer Craftsmen at The Williams Morris Gallery, London 2015

“ Have nothing in your houses that you do not believe to be useful or beautiful.” 

Williams Morris

I proposed to design an acrylic chair, digitally printed with a pattern design informed by the rows and uniform content of super market shelves. I also had the pattern printed onto Duchess silk to make a throw to hang over the back of the chair.

Sketch book images

Chair maquette
Dimensions of chair and maquette
Initial drawings from supermarket images
pattern design for the chair back and throw
Design for chair back and the throw

Problems to resolve:

  • How and where to make an acrylic chair? I was fortunate to find a local acrylic company, Clearly Modern, where I was advised by Paul Turner in the nature of acrylic and the design of the chair.
  • How to design for digital print on both fabric and acrylic? I learned how to use Photoshop to create a digital pattern form my drawings. The acrylic sheet for the chair was printed prior to moulding, by a professional print company.
  • Where to get the fabric for the throw printed and how to prepare the digital pattern? I found a local print company: Hadley Print, Lewis, East Sussex and followed their advice to format the digital files.