To mark the launch of Sprout by HP, a revolutionary new creative space that combines immersive, multi-touch technology with a fully functioning PC, some of the most innovative and exciting individuals in the UK have been invited to explore its capabilities.
Felix Conran is one quarter of the CLAM Collective, a group of four Central Saint Martins product design students who combine traditional manufacturing methods with the latest craft and design techniques. After meeting at university and being inspired by one another’s enthusiasm and ideas, they set up a shared studio in which to collaborate and innovate. “We formed without a plan,” says Conran. “We could go a number of ways, but we just want to work and think together.”
Now a year old, the collective has released its first product. The Lightly is a lamp made with a stainless steel sheet that has an adjustable arm to allow it to be held in three positions between ambient, directional and focused light. The lamp also contains an LED CLAM bulb, engineered for low power consumption with maximum brightness.
The collective’s next project involves working with wood manufacturers to produce bespoke wooden symbols, half made in Japan and half in Northumbria. Conran says: “The people in Japan will make traditional English shapes and the people in England will make traditional Japanese shapes. When they come together they will create a series that links more than once; wonderfully made, gorgeous things that are made at different ends of the world.
“We like tracing things back and getting a new take on them. There’s got to be a deeper meaning to design or it just gets lost – it’s not interesting and not new. Giving products a deeper philosophical meaning, or creating a journey to the end product, results in a much more interesting way to work.”
Conran’s take on Sprout by HP fits perfectly with the ethos of CLAM; combining digital and analogue techniques, using Sprout’s scanning technology along with his expertise in 3D printing to create a unique, physical object. “I wanted to use the Sprout to make a useful product,” Conran says. “I also wanted to do something quite symbolic because, for me, this is a really amazing and important machine.
“I decided to capture the fact that the Sprout is the next step away from paper, and normally when you want to get rid of paper you crumple it up and throw it in the trash. I bought a pack of thin card and started scrunching each piece up. I chose my favourite, put it on the Sprout mat and scanned it. I then took the scan, drew a block and cut them together. I printed the shape in 3D and then, using a very traditional moulding technique, created a wooden version of the paper. I wasn’t happy with the first version, so I repeated the process with another crumpled piece of paper. Then, using the moulds and wood laminates, I ended up with my finished product – a desk tidy.”
CLAM’s mantra is to create objects that interact ergonomically with people that use them, as well as the environment they are placed in. In working with Sprout, Conran found a tool that complements CLAM’s ethos of using materials in new ways and respecting the process of product design: learning by making. “The Sprout is going to change a lot about the way people work,” he says. “It brings back so much
that creative people had lost by working on computers. The Sprout puts craft back into the design process because it’s so hands on, making the creative process tactile again. I’ve already found a brilliant painting app that breathes new life into drawing. I haven’t really used my drawing skills since doing A-levels, but it’s such a good skill
to develop and this app is really easy to use.”
Coming from a prestigious line of designers (he is the grandson of designer, restaurateur and writer Terence, the nephew of designers Sebastian and Jasper, and the son of author and interior designer Sophie), Felix Conran is also keen to promote the possibilities of technology throughout the generations of his family. “If my grandfather was going to use one piece of cutting-edge technology, the Sprout would probably be it,” he says. “I think my uncle Sebastian would love it and my mum has already used the Sprout to help with her home renovation.”
The ultimate creative space
Create whatever you can imagine thanks to Sprout’s revolutionary, immersive, multi-touch technology and Sprout Workspace, the app for capturing, creating, and sharing your ideas. With the powerful Intel i7 Processor and 1TB of storage, Sprout has everything you need to express yourself and get your work done. Find out more about the Sprout by HP here.
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