Life in sustainable design
What connects these concepts with Sibley Grove’s design ethos?
1. Carpet tile chair
2. Brass Plasters
3. Cleaning Rings
4. Thermo-forming lampshades
5. Waste of money box
These are not the ramblings of a mad man. They are in fact designed objects created by Jeremy Grove, Kate Sibley and me, whilst studying our Design BA at Goldsmiths College, London nearly 25 years ago. Before delving a little further into these unique creations, it is worth considering the common thread that runs between them. That is of our relationship with the objects we own, or in the present context, the lack of connection to the things we consume.
I met Jeremy and Kate within the first few days of starting our Goldsmith’s course. We all shared a creative, yet pragmatic approach to design, while also showing concern for the environmental impact of consumerism. We enjoyed making and spent a fair amount of time in the workshop prototyping furniture and products – which was usually preceded by much sketching and brainstorming – namely over a few drinks in the Hobgoblin Pub along the New Cross Road. How we were let into the workshop the next morning, I do not know!
So let me talk a little more about these five creations and the ideas behind them.
The Carpet Tile Chair
A submission to the 2003 Valencia Furniture Fair, for which we received a ‘special honour’ (bottom right in the image above).
This chair focused its’ upholstery around the carpet tile. The standard 50x50cm carpet tile slotted into an elegant frame system that formed the chair’s structure. The tile was held in place with a hidden clamp system.
During the early noughties, most carpet tiles did not have the same circular credentials as many from the current manufacturers on offer today. They were a woven front held within a bitumen backing. A product that was only destined for the landfill. However, the quality of this material lent itself, when inserted into the frame, to form a hammock for the seat and the lumber, creating a very comfortable chair.
While in hindsight, this was not completely circular, the carpet tiles can be swapped out for a different colour or patten to allow the user to change the aesthetic of the chair to their taste or to a different interior. This is very similar principle to our recently completed ReSelfridges project that uses a frame system to hold in place circular, cradle-to-cradle cladding materials.
Brass Plasters
Yes, quite literally that. The standard Elastoplast but made from photo-etched brass sheet with specific screw holes. May I state, these are not intended for wounds of the flesh, but as a first aid kit for furniture.
There is no such thing as the perfect object; all things age, wear and break. Furniture of high value will always be restored and repaired. This product concentrates on high-turnout, flat pack furniture, usually from a well-known Swedish brand that most of us have in our houses. The plasters allow the owner to repair their own pieces of furniture that cracks, breaks or becomes loose at the joins.
By engaging in repair, we develop a closer connection to the things we own and are less likely to dispose of them as our mark and history is told through the story of these fixes. Brass Plasters were designed to add value through fix itself.
Cleaning RingS
As part of her jewellery making portfolio, Kate designed ‘cleaning rings’ to intentionally collect dirt through the act of cleaning. The ring itself is made from silver, but instead of a head made from precious metal or stones, the clasp holds a cleaning product, for example, a small piece of Vileda cleaning cloth or a metal scourer.
They are functional and handy to have on if you need to clean dirt from under your fingernails or mop up a dribble of tea on your desk, however their main purpose was to bring dirt into the realm of the precious, and question whether dirt can be beautiful.
Thermo-forming LampshadeS
It makes us feel old, when we talk about this product. LED light bulbs were becoming more common in our daily lives, yet many of us still had halogen bulbs in our houses. This simple pendant fitting lampshade was made from thermoplastic, which was cut into a circular petal shape, with a hole in the middle to slot onto a pendant bulb fitting.
This product encouraged the transition to LED but was designed so that the halogen bulb became the last part of the manufacturing process, entirely governed by the user. LED bulbs emit very little heat, where halogen bulbs do. After fitting the flat shade to the pendant fitting the halogen bulb was reinstalled and the light switched on. The heat would warm the plastic slightly causing the petals to drop. When the user got to a stage where they had their desired form, they would switch off the light and fit their new LED bulb. Due to surrounding temperature and draughts etc, the shade would always take on a unique form.
Like the Brass Plasters, the lampshades engaged the user with the product they own, promoting a connection and level of autonomy in their purchase.
‘Waste of Money’ Boxes.
I was not going to mention these in this article, however, I keep a few on my mantel piece and while looking at them across the living room, I thought that their design offers a philosophical story about our relationship with objects.
Essentially, it’s a money box. They were slip-cast porcelain from a Victorian apothecary poison bottle and had a slot that would only accept 5 pence coins. Once full, the volume of coins equated to the original cost of purchasing the money box. However, to get to your savings, there was no means of opening the bottom. Instead, you had to smash the vessel rendering it complete useless.
A useless, short-lived product. That it is, but today we surround ourselves with so many poorly designed and poorly made objects to satisfy trends and fashions, that they too are no different from the ‘Waste of Money’ Box. We spend money on an object, we throw it away, we buy the next object that we are told is the new thing for our lives – a waste of money and resources.
So, you can see that for 25 years, Jeremy, Kate and I have explored, triumphed, failed, iterated and most of all, loved design. And at the heart of it all has been the desire to create beautiful objects and spaces that foster connection, meaning and value. These are the principles on which we founded Sibley Grove. Whilst our work has moved towards the commercial and luxury market, there isn’t a project that we work on that doesn’t hold true to the values that Kate, Jeremy and I coalesced around from our early days as Goldsmith’s students, drinking and brainstorming in the Hob Goblin pub.