Visitors to this year’s London Design Festival can expect to see everything from an installation inspired by Barbie’s Dream House to an exhibition dedicated to the late furniture designer Robin Day.
At Yorkton Workshops in Hackney, east London, the avant-garde exhibition features clothes pegs, hammers, smart cards and a case for carrying Pringles crisps.
The Well Made: What It Means Today exhibition, which runs until September 22, has been curated by Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd, who aim to redefine what “good” design means in the face of climate change, industrialization and globalization. The founders of award-winning design studio Pearson Lloyd hope their exhibition can reflect how modern materials and technologies have changed manufacturing.
“We spend all our time sitting across from each other, pontificating about the quality of objects,” Pearson says. “We decided to ask a diverse group of people, including other designers, what they think is ‘well-made’ to get a different perspective.”
Pearson and Lloyd asked a group of architects, artists, designers and academics to come up with a man-made object that they considered to be well-designed and well-made. They also put out an open call for suggestions for small objects that cost less than £20 and could be easily purchased online. The results were very eclectic. Only two designer pieces were selected: a 3D-printed shoe from footwear brand Vivobarefoot and the 60 stool, created by Finnish furniture designer Alvar Aalto in 1933.
Cutting-edge objects were chosen. Barbara Chandler, founder of Green Grads, a program that encourages students to come up with sustainable design ideas, chose a solar-powered heating mat for refugees because “there’s a huge need for designs that solve a lot of social and environmental problems.” Also on display were 3-D printed wool and dissolvable circuit boards. Lloyd said the circuit board’s potential uses in combating e-waste make this exhibit her favorite.
Pearson’s favourite objects reflect the exhibition’s other major theme: the value of everyday objects. “The hot water bottle is poignant,” he said. “I grew up in an old house that my parents never heated, but with my hot water bottle I was warm until morning. It’s a beautiful symbol of efficiency – it’s ridiculous to heat houses at night.”
The other thing is toilets. Everyone uses them every day, but no one thinks about what they bring in terms of quality of life.
Furniture designer Jasper Morrison chose a Rex vegetable peeler for its durability, low material cost, and because it is “pleasant to use and pleasing to the eye.” Sony creative director Hirotaka Tako chose a straw hat because it uses waste, provides sun protection, and is “beautifully formed by its own tension.”
Some designers have chosen concepts. Futurist designer Nick Foster chose the metric system, embodied by a typical school ruler, because it is “the crowning achievement of our species… I can’t think of a single human idea that has accelerated our progress so much.”
The designers believe that if they can remind visitors to the exhibition of the magic of everyday objects, they will have succeeded.
Lloyd said: “The cost of buying has been so low over the last 20 years that the only question a buyer has is: ‘Do I like it?’ From a global perspective, we can’t do that anymore.
“The toothbrush is the perfect example of what is wrong, in a way: a plastic toothbrush is democratic, cheap and saves people’s teeth. We are not proposing a return to bone-handled toothbrushes, but the materials chosen must change.
“If people become more conscious of the decisions they make, that would be a good thing. Or if they would at least think about the magic of these things – like the fiber optic cable that runs under the ocean and allows people to make phone calls in the United States.”
Katie Treggiden, founder and director of Making Design Circular, an online learning platform for businesses, nominated artist Stefanie Ying Lin Cheong’s jewellery for Well Made, which uses utilitarian rocks such as limestone, shale and glaze waste in place of traditional gemstones. Exhibitions like this are essential for the design industry, Treggiden says.
“According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 80% of a product’s environmental impact is influenced by decisions made at the design stage: how much waste or pollution is generated, whether the object uses virgin or second-life materials, whether it can be repaired or disassembled for recycling at the end of its life. This impacts the natural systems on which all living things on the planet depend.”
“Too few people consider these things when they create objects. An exhibition like Well Made opens an important conversation about how we have defined well-made in the past and how we need to redefine well-made in the future, so that we have a future to look forward to.”
Best designs under £20 at Well Made
Disposable bamboo chopsticks chosen by Alexis Georgacopoulous, director of the Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne ECAL
“They are made efficiently with simple machines, with very little waste, and in one piece. They are probably one of the few objects that finds a use when they are ‘broken’.”
Mooncup Menstrual Cup Chosen by Designer Amy Wolfe
“Although menstrual cups were invented in the 1930s, the Mooncup was the world’s first medical-grade silicone menstrual cup. Not only do they save money, they’re also better for the planet and safer to use than disposable menstrual products.”
Reversible PVA chosen by Mark Miodownik, Materials Scientist
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“PVA represents the class of adhesives that literally hold our world together, from furniture to automobiles, from electronics to sneakers, from buildings to dental implants. The problem with adhesives is peeling them off when they are needed for easy repair and recycling. This PVA is reversible.”
Scalpel Handle No. 3 Chosen by Architect David Scott
“The stainless steel construction of the Swann-Morton No. 3 scalpel handle ensures durability in surgical and craft applications. The ability to replace the blades allows for renewed product performance with minimal waste.”
£5 note chosen by Design Burger studio
“This note incorporates some of the most advanced security features in the world, including features detectable only by the Bank of England. Hygienic, durable and precision-produced in series, it demonstrates unrivalled craftsmanship.”
Hot water bottle chosen by architect Elliot Payne
“Still relevant in today’s cost of living crisis, the hot water bottle is an inexpensive source of warmth. Molded in one piece from natural rubber and virtually unchanged for over a century, it is a testament to what it means to be well made.”
Designer’s Chosen Clamp Finn Thomson
“The Pipe Clamp holds onto everything from panels to posts, pipes to buildings, scaffolding to scaffolding, and ducts in kitchens. This small, strong connection harnesses friction to make adjustable and repairable structures easy.”
Key chosen by the industrial designer Giovanni La Tona
“It’s an economical, portable, and mechanically precise object. It has evolved over the centuries, and its form has been refined and reinvented over the years to increase safety and optimize manufacturing. It’s a powerful symbol. Something that should never be forgotten.”
Clothespin chosen by an industrial designer Ineke Hans
“Sometimes parts come loose, but anyone can fix that. Old springs certainly last a lifetime. I’ve borrowed hundreds from my mother-in-law and am still happy with them.”
The Tornado Rescue Whistle Chosen by Product Designer Jeffrey Lambert
“It has no ball inside, which allows it to work on land and in wet or sub-zero conditions. Unlike metal, the plastic prevents lips from sticking to the gel. It is unbreakable, ultra-light, produces a high-pitched, loud sound with little effort, and is easy to find thanks to its phosphorescent plastic.”
Smart card chosen by designer Nick Carpenter
“A secure, fast, cheap and compact digital token for transactions and identification. The embedded solid-state memory stores your personal information without requiring a power supply, acting as a globally recognized portable digital signature.”
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