Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

Lab craft: digital adventures in contemporary craft

Lab craft: Committee – Lost Twin Ornaments #1
Lost Twin Ornaments #1 by Committee

To make this piece, Committee chose incongruous pairs of mundane objects which they then brought together with a form that was made using CAD technology
Photograph: PR
Lab craft: Gareth Neal – Louis
Louis by Gareth Neal

The Louis tables are part of a series of work that explores the juxtaposition of old and new forms and techniques through the combined use of digital technologies and traditional high quality craftsmanship
Photograph: PR
Lab craft: Gary Allson and Ismini Samanidou – Woven Wood
Woven Wood by Gary Allson and Ismini Samanidou

This is a collaboration between a product designer and a textile designer. The project explores how digital technology can be used to translate magnified textile weave structures onto pieces of wood
Photograph: Nick Moss
Lab craft: Geoffrey Mann – Shine
Shine by Geoffrey Mann

Shine was created by a process that uses digital techniques to explore the reflective properties of a metallic Victorian candelabrum. A planar 3D scanner was used to record the reflection of the object. The reflection was then used to create a rapid prototyped form, which was then cast to make an object
Photograph: Nick Moss
Lab craft: Liam Hopkins – Bravais Armchair
Bravais Armchair by Liam Hopkins

The design of the Bravais Armchair was inspired by column-shaped structural forms in nature. CAD was used to create the chair’s form, which was then put together using over 200 triangular cardboard columns
Photograph: Nick Moss
Lab craft: Lynne MacLachlan – Bubble Jewellery
Bubble Jewellery by Lynne MacLachlan

MacLachlan’s Bubble jewellery is made using digital tools, skills and processes to make delicate bubble and foam like structures. These are transformed into jewellery through wax casting and meticulous hand-finishing and polishing
Photograph: Nick Moss
Lab craft: Michel Eden – The Babel Vessel #1
The Babel Vessel #1 by Michel Eden

In this vessel, Eden likens the symbolic surface decoration on an ancient Chinese ceremonial wine vessel to the encoded information of a QR code. The vessel’s unique QR code forms the footprint of the piece, which is created by a 3D printing process, and so runs throughout the form
Photograph: Nick Moss
Lab craft: Nina Tolstrup – Branch Out
Branch Out by Nina Tolstrup

These trestles are inspired by fallen forest branches, which would otherwise eventually biodegrade into the earth. Tolstrup collected these branches and 3D scanned them before manipulating the scanned images using a 3D software programme. The resulting forms were then rapid prototyped, cast and then joined up with the fallen branches to make trestles
Photograph: PR
Lab craft: Timorous Beasties – Chair upholstered with ‘White Moth All Over’
Chair upholstered with ‘White Moth All Over’ by Timorous Beasties

Timorous Beasties’ work often incorporates illustrations of triffid-like plants, birds and other animals. To create the White Moth All Over design they have repeatedly built up a scanned image of a white moth to create a busy and detailed pattern
Photograph: Nick Moss
Lab craft: Tord Boontje – 100 Years
100 Years by Tord Boontje

Boontje uses decoration and historical forms in his designs and often uses computers and industrial technology to achieve handmade and very decorative effects. The tree rings and wood grain pattern in ‘100 Years’ has been laser cut, in a way not possible by hand
Photograph: PR
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.