British Capsule: Hail, All Hail to the finest of Design!

“Take-Care” 

In a market that has traditionally been global and which is reinventing itself just after the pandemic shock, Design seems to be adjusting its local focus more than ever. The empire of British Design, gifted with a pool of creators whom the English-speaking world willingly invites to shell out projects and ideas across the globe, has yet to escape this re-examination momentum of its practices. Without ceasing to delight the interiors of Mayfair or Dubai with their talents, the six names in the cast of this capsule all reintroduce the idea of a “collectible design” celebrating craftsmanship, limited signature editions or unique pieces.
 
Carefully composed by Jimmy MacDonald and embroidering all disciplines, this patchwork, maximalist by the mastery each of the brands presented unveils, remains well aware of our inevitable societal issues. The worlds of Altrock Surfaces, Bethan Laura Wood, Eley Kishimoto & Floor Story, Lee Broom, Lucy Kurrein and Thomas Hancock here express themselves in all their singularity as much as in a harmonious dialogue. All offer a careful and innovative approach through the quality of materials and the perfecting techniques at work, in a joyful echo to this edition’s tagline: “Take Care”.

“Space-Time-Capsule” 

A capsule that could feel “spatiotemporal” at first, since time seems suspended, rather than taking the French leave. Thus the sensual and organic lines of Lucy Kurrein's retro-futuristic seats evoke the functional outlines typical of "sixties" furniture design. This specialist in upholstery fabric from Yorkshire presents pieces that astonish as much as they clash in a vast portfolio where sofas and armchairs traditionally predominate. Thus we discover the bold stools of the “Falabella” series, a name borrowed from the most petite horse in the stables of the equine breed. Plywood tripods forming so many small, neat, light and modular architectures, one could “ride” Kurrein's “Falabella” on a bare or padded wooden top made available in pigmented white or tinted black.

The journey continues with a dive into the heart of the texture-formal vortex of Thomas Hancock, a fresh graduate in Contemporary Design Crafts from the Hereford College of Arts. Combining a passion for colour, experimentation and traditional craftsmanship, this promising creator uses processes and materials usually confined to the industrial world and calculates non-adjustable variables in all stages of his production process. His pieces are thus all unique, like those exhibited in the capsule: masterful sconces and vases with radiant motifs inspired by the “Fordite”, a residue of dried, cut and polished automobile paint. The result is a modernist illusion that allows us to see ceramic shards or even the abstract depths of a mineral agate when really only recycled chemical pigments are encrusted on metal. Arabesques born from this marriage of materials, tints, and a form of mathematical poetry, the hypnotic patterns captured by Thomas Hancock in the privacy of his studio evoke images of a curious space-time, reaching us from a telescope pointed on the distant cosmos.

“Experience-Capsule”

The capsule turns into a sensory experiment with ELEY KISHIMOTO. Deploying three pieces from floor to wall that complete their creative flair, the duo has achieved the subtle alchemy between art, fashion and craftsmanship. Developed for FLOOR-STORY, London's high-end rug mecca at the heart of creatively-boiling Shoreditch, the “Flash Loop” and “Quilted Mirage” pieces operate the perfect synthesis of ELEY KISHIMOTO's state-of-the-art carpet making: precise works, both evident in intent and transcending the trend while providing authentic visual experiences. “Flash Loop” reinterprets the iconic “Flash” design in a textured tufted velvet colourway offering a striking graphic contrast. With “Quilted Mirage”, the contrast becomes a trompe-l’oeil, bringing distinctive lights and depth through an astute retro-contemporary 8-bit pixel effect. A unique wall surface, “Graphic Fairytale”, finally offers an embroidered landscape, a moving ode to Japanese culture, which also acts as a comprehensive visual retrospective of the whole of ELEY KISHIMOTO's creative spectrum.

A talent springboard as much as a research laboratory, the British Capsule proudly introduces pieces by industrial designer Robin Grasby, developed with Altrock Surfaces, an experimental feat of synthetic marble entirely recycled. This technical masterstroke set in 2018 reuses fragments of natural stone hand-poured in marble and resin flour to create slabs of almost infinite sizes and colours. Primary debris comes from the waste collected at all stages of the marble production chain, from quarry extraction to offcuts and scraps from construction sites. Borrowing its grace and solidity from marble, this eco-friendly neo-terrazzo, as versatile as plywood, could revolutionise interior design.

“Masterful-Capsule”

A master of lighting design and prolific creator of luxury furniture and accessories, Lee Broom is exhibiting a selection of his luminous brutalist sculptures for the Britsih Capsule, including the iconic “Vesper” chandelier. This masterful suspension in brushed gold aluminium and opal glass spheres reinterprets simple geometries and modernist motifs applied to an art of lighting that never lacks a particular form of theatricality. This touch makes Lee Broom one of the flagship designers whose eponymous brand of high-end products distributes its hundreds of pieces worldwide.

Finally, this capsule would only be complete and quite British with the surreal extravaganzas of another superstar of the English scene: the grandiloquent Bethan Laura Wood. The technicolour explosions of this iconoclastic designer, at the head of her multidisciplinary studio since 2009, are often born from residencies. In-situ projects and meetings with local manufacturers always nourish her inspiration and passion for celebrating the richness of all visual and material cultures. This creative process applied to the creation of “TERRAZZO”, the piece presented here, resulting from a Venetian residency at the initiative of Poltronova. Inspired by the marbles of the many palaces of a city also steeped in carnival frivolity, Bethan Laura Wood has developed a unique polyamide and elastane fabric to re-enchant one of the brand's most iconic sofas. The chromatic fantasy here composes a psychedelic landscape that perfectly matches the curves of the aptly named “Superonda” sofa.

One capsule for six universes, each is shaping the scene of a resolutely versatile British design, always at the forefront of innovation and setting the trend.