Chelsea Miller Knives

Here is the first in a series of interviews I am featuring from my new book, The Sustainable Design Book. I've chosen to highlight a few of my favourite makers whose work and craftsmanship fits as well on these pages, as on those inside the book. Chelsea Miller makes some of the most beautiful knives I have ever seen and I wrote about her work a couple of years ago here. The knives are created by hand, from repurposed high-carbon steel taken from discarded tools, with handles of local maple, cherry and applewood. The result is incredible knives which are seriously functional with a unique aesthetic.

How did you become a knife maker? I started making knives in my fathers blacksmith shop after having seen a knife my brother had made. I asked him to teach me and by the second or third step I had taken over. I gave that first knife to a close friend of mine and I still use it often. Describe your style? My style is nontraditional, inspired by materials that are not typically used for things beyond their original purpose. I am excited by textures and grain and letting each piece find its final form. How is your work sustainable? My work is sustainable in the sense that I am repurposing old farm and farrier’s tools and milling wood from the living forest where I grew up. It’s fun to imagine someone cutting cooking with what once was a file used to shoe horses, when otherwise they would have never come in contact with such a tool. What tools and materials do you use? I use high carbon steel tools, all made in the US and wood native to my childhood home in the North East Kingdom of Vermont. I cut the desired shape from these tools with a torch, then grind them to the optimal thinness. I heat treat and temper the blades, attach wood handles and many, many hours later chop veggies and grate cheese. What inspires you? My inspiration comes from a need for balance in my life. I live in New York City, I occasionally act in films, knife making gives me the meditative time I need to focus all my energy on creating something very simple in theory yet quite complex in reality. I am also inspired by children and their power to create an imaginary world. I try to spend a lot of time there.

Thank you Chelsea!

To buy a copy of The Sustainable Design Book with 35% discount, you can use the code PROCTOR35 at the Laurence King checkout.

Hampson Woods

I had always thought that the best chopping boards were very simple, angular ones, but Hampson Woods have proved me wrong as I am now hooked on their distinctive handles. Chances are that you've seen the elegant curving wooden handle of a Hampson Woods chopping board in a photoshoot or shop lately. Their work is popping up all over the place, and I love that they have come up with a design that is instantly recognisable as their own, yet still very timeless and classic. Hampson Woods evolved as a pairing of woodworker, Jonty Hampson and artist and designer, Sascha Gravenstein. Together they design and create hand made, small-batch products using wood sourced from their own woodland in Cumbria. This is a rare treat, meaning they can know exactly where each product originally had its roots.

Tell us about what you do? We are small-­batch producers of wooden products for the home - serving boards, porridge spoons and hanging racks. All of our work is designed, made by hand and finished in our Hackney workshop. What materials do you use and why? We predominantly work with London Plane, a hardwood with an incredible depth of colour and variation in grain. It has been little used these past decades, and visually always keeps you guessing. As it’s not grown commercially, it is only really available when a tree comes down or has to be removed, so it's not the easiest to source. We also work with Elm, Ash, Oak and Sycamore, all also sourced from within Britain. We only acquire timber if we know its provenance; where it once stood. What is your favourite wood to work with? My current favourite is Ash. It is almost buttery in its consistency, yet so versatile and strong. Sycamore is growing on me too, it finishes like glass and has a real sheen to it. Wood is such a beautiful and giving material. ­Even years after it stood, it never seems to lose its energy. As it is worked, and especially when oiled, new shades and subtle pleasing variations in colour will appear. As it ages, its texture and character will change, ­ and whatsmore, no two pieces are ever the same. What techniques do you use? The majority of our work is sanding, from shaping right down to finish. We always work with the piece in hand, and with patience, ­taking it, bit by bit, to a comfortable and smooth form. We're ­ always ensuring a very high quality of finish. What/who inspires you to make your work? The world around us, friends, family, Henry Moore, David Nash. Rebirth of timbers that have ended their previous life ­and the simple pleasures of working by hand. Can you recommend a good book? I’m an admirer of Ruskin ­but only in small doses. For reference, The Wood Book and for fun, The Treehouse Book. Where can we buy your work? From several shops across London, and the UK and also from our website. What are your plans/ideas for the future? Collaboration with craftsmen of other materials to see­ how beautiful timbers and grains can sit alongside other naturally­ occurring, texturally­ contrasting materials. Also to take on more hands, and branch out into other parts of the home.

Thank you Jonty!

Workshop photographs by Robin Sinha.

Imperfect Home

I've featured Bailey's before in this tour of their converted barns in Wales. The shop is a wonderful place and the couple's latest book Imperfect Home, further hones their influential aesthetic. Below is an extract from the new book, a Q & A with Ryuji Mitani, a Japanese maker who creates wooden tableware such as trays, spoons, forks and bowls. Ryuji is passionate about promoting Japanese crafts and also curates exhibitions and writes books on the subject. His home, gallery and studio (pictured above) in the Japanese city of Matsumoto, are testimony to the simple pleasure of handmade things. It is not overfilled with objects, instead you are drawn to the detail of what is on show; the careful chisel marks of a bowl or the patina of a well-worn leather chair. Q&ADo you have your own philosophy of life? I like everyday simplicity and comfort. I can't change the whole world, but I hope that my wooden pieces will bring simplicity and comfort to someone's life. What music do you enjoy listening to? Piano music by Keith Jarrett and Bill Evans. Which authors or books inspire you? Saigo no Shinran (The Last Shinran) by Takaaki Yoshimoto, Mon (The Gate) by Soseki Natsume and Onnatachiyo (Ladies) by Jyuzo Itami. Likes: Carrying the table outside and having lunch in the shade of a tree. Meals with friends. Textiles and baskets woven with care. White porcelain and linen sheets. Well-used wooden vessels and chairs. Do you have any recipes that you like? Yes - pasta with negi (Japanese leeks). You will need olive oil, crushed garlic, thinly sliced leeks and some pasta. Pour a generous amount of olive oil into a pan and add the garlic. Cook over a low heat until soft, then add the thinly sliced leeks and continue to cook gently until they are soft. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add a pinch of salt. Add the pasta to the boiling water. Once the pasta is ready, drain then add to the leek mixture, combine and serve.

Imperfect Home by Mark & Sally Bailey is published by Ryland Peters & Small. www.rylandpeters.com

Pia Wüstenberg

Pia Wüstenberg is well known for her mixed-material Stacking Vessels, combining blown glass, ceramic, turned wood and metal. They come in lots of different variations, all with wonderful bloated forms and are a brilliant exercise in mixing different craft skills. Pia recently introduced a new evolution of the Stacking Vessel called Branch Bowls, which pairs a hand-blown glass bowl with a lid formed from a tree branch. There is a great video filmed by James Maiki called A Tale of Two Halves which gives a glimpse into how they are made.  The film shows the mesmerising process of the two separate pieces being made and fitted together and highlights the craftsmanship that goes into making the work. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the video, although I confess that I love glass blowing and could happily watch it all day. I interviewed Pia for a book project recently and thought I would include some extracts from the interview here. We were discussing her work and inspirations...

How did you get involved in design? I studied a Foundation in Glass, Metal and Ceramic Design at SIAD in Farnham and a BA in Furniture Design and Craftsmanship at Bucks New University. I chose Furniture Design as I believe it is a versatile product requiring the most technical and material knowledge. Later I studied in London on the MA Design Products course at the Royal College of Arts. I set up my own studio following graduation. How would you describe your style? It is all about contrast. Everything I do is mixed-media, and the process and materiality of each media supports the other. All my work is handmade. I use traditional craft skills and traditional raw materials, such as wood, ceramic, glass and paper. The resulting objects contain the stories of their making and the traces of the materials origin. This makes them objects of desire. What materials and techniques do you use? I work with very raw and pure materials such as glass, ceramic, copper, wood and paper. These are processed using traditional craft techniques. Are there any particular designer/artists/things that inspire you? I really respect the work and philosophy of Kaj Franck and Jurgen Bey. I get inspiration from many things I see, it just depends on the mind frame I am in. What are you working on at the moment and what do you hope to work on in the future? At the moment, I am working on a collection of glass jewellery to hold scent. In the future, I hope to work more with glass, to challenge its application and the ways in which we normally find it used. Have you noticed any particular trends in design lately? I have noticed my friends investing in objects for life, rather than going for cheap, quick solutions. What materials or techniques do you think we'll be seeing more of in the future? I believe there will be a return to pure materials and traditional skills. Mainly because I think we want fewer things, and for the things we do want , we have to be considered and durable. What is your favourite piece of design by another designer? The sewing needle, paperclip, can opener, fork and scissors. There are so many simple, clever things that do not have a shining name or famous designer behind them, and they are the most durable designs that we live with. These are the designs that move something in me, that challenge me to think, innovate and feel desire for objects.

Thank you Pia! www.utopiaandutility.eu

Flammer's House

This house has got so much going for it that I love; the steeply pitched roof and overhanging eaves, the black cladding, large round and rectangular windows and the visible criss-crossing timber braces that support the building. The house is located in northern Switzerland and was designed by local architect Pascal Flammer. Sitting between a wheat field and a thicket of woodland, the place has a definite physical connection with the world outside of its continuous windows. Once the building is softened with some well-loved furniture, rugs and the messiness of everyday life, I think it will look beautiful. Talking of everyday life, we've been making a few changes around here lately. Obviously nothing on the scale of this house - in fact it's quite ridiculous of me to even write of them in the same space. Still, I may post a few pictures soon, if I ever get around to taking any...

John & Jen Vitale's House

I am quite taken with John and Jen Vitale's house which featured on Freunde von Freunden recently. John is a skateboard designer and Jen, a stylist. Their home is a Navajo-hued stucco building in Portland, Oregon with lots of light and architectural charm. Filled with plants, records, books, natural objects and a fine collection of handmade kitchen items (check out the pots in the kitchen cupboard), it seems their home exudes an appreciation for the simple things in life. I would love a natural, stripped-back home like this but, I am so drawn to colour & pattern that it's kind of impossible.

Gingerbread House

This building was winner of the AJ Small Projects Awards 2013 and looks like an industrial gingerbread house! It has pretty rounded shingles and sits behind the reconstructed wall of a former Victorian box factory with mismatched brickwork. Architect Laura Dewe Mathews designed the house for herself and was keen to show that contemporary architecture can be friendly instead of severe and alienating. I love the contrast of the curved cedar scales, thick galvanised steel window surrounds and patched brick wall. Inside the house is just as delightful, with a double-height kitchen and dining room, timber-clad walls and a beautiful resin floor, it really is the stuff of modern-day fairytales.

Hayloft

Located on Föhr, a small island in the North Sea, architects Francesco Di Gregorio and Karin Matz have converted the hayloft of an old thatched farmhouse into a beautiful and modern apartment. The spotty tiles, pale pine boards and nest-like wooden beds, make the space feel both minimal and cosy. The bold use of colour is inspiring too, yet it appears subtle when surrounded by a sea of white. The interior is inspired by tradition, as the architects were keen to incorporate the Friesian heritage of the island into the interior. "The space is very much influenced by the place - its history, traditions and nature," says Matz. "In the traditional houses at least one wall in the dining rooms would be covered in patterned tiles, as a way of showing wealth. Since we wanted to bring light into the house, we thought that tiles would be a great reflective material and at the same time something so present in all Friesan houses." They have also embraced the classic Friesian colour palette of moody blues and greens, highlighting these North Sea inspired colours on the tiles, beds and ropes that are suspended from the ceiling. The polka dot grid pattern of the tiles is unusually created by drilling into the centre of each tile and revealing the bright blue grout behind it. I love this idea of creating pattern through space, however I'm not sure how great it will be to keep clean!

Herriott Grace

Herriott Grace sell beautiful handmade wooden objects, porcelain tableware, kitchen linens and accessories. They are a father and daughter team and I love the unlikely story of how they began working together. Nikole and Lance both live in Canada 3400 kilometers apart: his workshop is in Victoria, British Columbia, while her studio is in Toronto, Ontario. When Nikole first made her home more than halfway across the country from her father, they started to send packages to each other. In some of the packages, Lance included his own hand carved spoons. Nikole loved them and knew they were special. One day she thought that others might appreciate her father’s work, so she asked if he would ever want to share his pieces. He took a while to think about it and after some convincing, agreed to her plan, "but only with people that understood and cared about the time and effort spent on each piece." She told him, “Leave it to me, I know just the sort.” And with that, Herriott Grace was born.

www.herriottgrace.com

Interiors: Jersey Ice Cream Company

The Jersey Ice Cream Company are Tara Mangini and Percy Bright, designers and builders of beautiful things. The couple named themselves after a long-forgotten ice cream company whose embossing stamp they found at their first flea market together. This fittingly lighthearted name both connects the company to the past and sets the tone for their delicately sweet work. Together the pair transform spaces with a wonderful lightness of touch, using reclaimed materials and vintage pieces. I love their use of texture with a restrained colour palette and splashes of black. I also particularly like the fact that together, Tara and Percy offer a complete range of skills - design, sourcing, carpentry and styling, meaning that they can personally complete a whole project themselves, with little need for outside help. If you are interested in seeing more of the wonderful work of the Jersey Ice Cream Company, visit their website. They also have an online vintage shop here.

www.jerseyicecreamco.com

Panelled House

I recently stumbled across this house on Blissful Blog. I've seen it somewhere before and know that I have magazine tears of it in my overflowing filing cabinet. It's such a great house and I could never forget that kitchen. The panelling, the cooker, the fresh green paint, the simple furniture and the view out to the woods - it's just the kind of place I love.

www.tsao-mckown.com

Nic Webb Spoons

I first discovered Nic Webb’s beautiful hand carved wooden spoons at the Contemporary Craft Fair in Bovey Tracey earlier this year. Each spoon is hand carved, using traditional tools and techniques. The timber is collected on walks around the British Isles or overseas and worked green, allowing it to twist and move while it seasons, creating wonderful natural surprises.

“When I begin carving, I look for the differing qualities in each piece of timber,” says Nic. He allows the grain and character to influence each design so that every spoon evolves to have its own personality and becomes a showcase for the limitless beauty of wood.

Many of the spoons look as though they have been grown or formed by processes of natural erosion. I particularly like the use of charring to create black hollows within some of the spoons. I also like the refined elegance of the pickle spoons, gently curving like the pieces of wood they came from. In fact, all of Nic’s work is exactly what I look for in contemporary design - a fine example of ethical and sustainable materials being crafted into joyful objects of use.

If you would like to learn how to make spoons yourself, Nic is running several workshops and courses, at the end of this year and beginning of next. For more details, please visit his website.

www.nicwebb.com

Woven Branches

The new issue of 3191 Quarterly is out next week and features a branch weaving project. I haven't seen anything quite like this before, but I love it! I'd definitely like to have a go and think a small collection of different branch weaves pinned to a wall would look amazing. The journal, created by MAV + SCB who share a love of "art and craft, simple things and a well-lived domestic life" also features cooking with seeds, collecting leaves and a day trip in the Columbia River Gorge - sounds like my kind of magazine. It comes in a beautifully photographed, printed and bound limited edition of 1000. You can pre-order your copy now...

www.3191milesapart.com 3191milesapart.myshopify.com

Inspiration: Beautility

Oji & Design are a Japanese company who make stripped-down products that improve everyday life. If you are in Paris next week, you can view a mini presentation of their work at Craftslab; an exhibition of simple modern products by Japanese and French artisans.

I love the quirky utilitarian beauty of their wooden tea set, brooms with umbrella handles and lunch boxes. They also make an incredible 'low chair' for an infant. Like a high chair but much lower, the chair can be used as a coffee table with storage once the child gets older.

www.craftslab.net www.o-ji.jp

Wooden Wall Hangings

Wallhangings seem like a good idea at the moment. They are less stuffy than a painting and more textural than a print. Bobo Choses make cute pictorial wallhangings for kids, and of course, I love the patchwork quilts hung by Jessica Ogden for APC at The Apartment in Copenhagen. For an excellent range of vintage 1970's weavings and tapestries, check out Nightwood in Brooklyn. In fact, Nightwood's entire collection of reincarnated furniture and textiles is pretty special. However, my favourite wallhanging (pictured above) has to be the talismanic Giant Spirit wall piece by artist Julie Thevonet. Not least because it combines another current craze - painted sticks.

www.juliethevenot.com