Clockwise from top left: Paula Swinnen, Branch design chandelier, paulaswinnen.com, commissions via guinevere.co.uk; Kate Malone, Bulging and Overloaded banksia bottles, katemaloneceramics. com, commissions via adriansassoon.com; Vincent Dubourg, Commode Inner Vortex, vincent-dubourg. com, commissions via carpenters workshopgallery.com In search of the unique, savvy homeowners are increasingly seeking out established artisans to fashion oneoff furnishings that are as sculptural and eye-catching as they are functional and long lasting. Nicole Swengley profiles a clutch of dynamic creators, whose captivating – and rare – métier is bespoke homeware PHOTOS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: NAT DAVIES, ANDY SMART/A.C.COOPER, ADRIEN MILLOT SUPERLATIVE SURFACES Belgian artist Paula Swinnen skilfully hand-casts intricate interpretations of flora and fauna into oneoff furniture designs. These creations can be enjoyed functionally while doubling as magnificent artworks, each individually signed and dated. Her remarkable glass-topped Vineyard table, with a bronze base festooned with grapes and foliage, and an Aquarium table, busy with bronze lobsters and crabs, were recently featured in a solo exhibition at Guinevere, London, and she happily tackles private commissions as well. Inspiration for Oxfordshire-based designer-maker Jonathan Baring comes from a very different source – minimalist 1960s furniture made by the late American artist/sculptor Donald Judd. “I love the simplicity of his work and the exquisite way it is put together,” says Baring. Imaginative material combinations – ebony/ bronze, wenge/leather, polished copper/hide, ebony/vellum, saddle leather/walnut – characterise Baring’s elegant desks, which are handmade with leather-lined drawers and hidden wiring tracks. MAGICAL METALWORK Using pennies as her innovative, ecofriendly medium, American artist Stacey Lee Webber reworks the humble coins into bold, richly patinated fruit bowls. The Indianapolis native who now calls Philadelphia home says: “Growing up in a middle-class family, I was taught the value of a dollar through labour, loyalty and work ethic.” American iconography informs her Silhouette of President Lincoln bowl, while her Woven Penny bowl, made from soldered ribbons of hand-cut pennies, elevates base metal to new heights. A fusion between traditional handcrafts and contemporary design similarly describes the dramatic lanterns made by Moroccan artist Yahya Rouach. Working out of Marrakech in bronze or nickel silver, he hammers, chisels and perforates the metal so that the lanterns create intriguing shadow plays when lit by their tiny, internal LEDs. Stunningly eye-catching, these contemporary reinterpretations of classic lanterns can be commissioned in any shape or size up to six metres tall. POTS WITH PRESENCE A compelling sense of narrative is key to the work of potter Kate Malone and woodworker Eleanor Lakelin. Malone, who has studios in Provence, Barcelona and London, is inspired by nature. Boldly shaped vases, jugs and bowls resemble artichokes, pumpkins or gourds, while their surfaces are studded with “acorns” or scored like palm-tree bark. Vibrant glazes, often with crystalline surfaces, add to the unique style of Malone’s remarkable stoneware, which, she says, “aims to broadcast a sense of optimism”. Meanwhile Lakelin, who works from a studio of London, fashions sculptural vessels and functional bowls from sustainably sourced trees using traditional turning and carving techniques. Some, like her cherry “crotch” bowls, are finished in food-safe oils (as are her chopping boards in carved sycamore or English olive ash). Others are sand-blasted, bleached or scorched to give their contemporary forms added texture. “Sometimes the material is the starting point and sometimes the design will govern the wood chosen,” she says. SCULPTURAL EXPERTISE Paris-based Vincent Dubourg subverts traditional furniture designs with his sculptural techniques. Deconstructed cabinets, tables and wall shelves are infused with a CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 81
