Craftform

The Crafts Council in collaboration with designers TEN and retailer twentytwentyone present WOOD at the William Morris Gallery, Walthamstow, London, from 30 January to 19 April 2009. The Crafts Council is touring the exhibition around the UK following the launch of WOOD at 100% Design in September 2008.

WOOD is an exhibition of witty, innovative and ethically designed products for the home or garden designed by TEN; a group of ten designers who collaborate once a year to create products that reflect their shared ethos. That ethos is that designers should take a responsible approach to design and offer a timely antidote to society’s high levels of consumption and throw-away culture. TEN designer Stephen Bretland admits he always strives to design things that are useful and beautiful “so as not to upset William Morris”.

This is the third project by TEN, following their award-winning projects 10 TEN X in 2006 and TEN AGAIN in 2007. With WOOD the group wanted to move from concepts to reality and so they worked to the brief of designing accessible and affordable products for the home or garden. Products include;

* Frame bird feeder by Nina Tolstrup responds to the rarity of spotting wildlife in urban areas. The idea for the bird feeder was to create a product which encourages interaction but also serves to capture a fleeting moment by framing it.
* Toy dumper truck by Sam Johnson uses a standard plastic racking box as its container on the back, meaning that the colour can be changed and it also continues to have a life once the toy has been outgrown.
* Car door wedge by Gitta Gschwendtner can be enjoyed by adults and children in order to give the product a greater life span. The car playfully hints at having ended up wedged underneath a door accidentally, telling a story beyond pure function.

The William Morris Gallery was the family home of William Morris, the writer, designer, artist and socialist associated with the English Arts and Crafts Movement at the turn of the 20th century. The gallery has many original Morris designs and will provide an interesting context for this contemporary exhibition. William Morris’ influence has proved enduring and he continues to inspire many contemporary makers and designers.

Location