Visitors to this year’s London design festival can expect to see everything from an installation inspired by Barbie’s Dreamhouse to an exhibition devoted to the late furniture designer Robin Day.
At the Yorkton Workshops in Hackney, east London, however, the cutting-edge show features clothes pegs, hammers, smart cards and a case for carrying Pringles crisps.
The exhibition Well Made: What It Means Today, which runs until 22 September, has been curated by Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd, who want to redefine what “good” design means in a time of climate crisis, industrialisation and globalisation. The founders of award-winning design studio Pearson Lloyd hope their exhibition can reflect how modern materials and technology have changed the manufacturing industry.
“We spend all our time sat across from each other, pontificating about the quality of objects,” said Pearson. “We decided to ask a diverse group of people, including other designers, what they think of as ‘well made’ to get a different perspective.”
Pearson and Lloyd asked a group of architects, artists, designers and academics to nominate a man-made object for the show that they consider well designed and well made. They also put out an open call for suggestions of small items that cost under £20 and which can be easily bought online. The results are certainly eclectic. Only two designer pieces made the cut – a 3D-printed shoe by footwear brand Vivobarefoot and the 60 Stool, created by Finnish furniture designer Alvar Aalto in 1933.
Some cutting-edge objects were chosen. Barbara Chandler, founder of Green Grads, a scheme promoting students with sustainable design ideas, chose a solar-powered heating mat for refugees because “there is a screaming need for designs that solve abundant social and environmental problems”. Also included were 3D-printed wool and soluble circuit boards. Lloyd said the potential uses of the circuit board in combating e-waste makethis his favourite exhibit.
Pearson’s favourites reflect the other major theme of the show: the value in everyday objects. “The hot-water bottle is poignant,” he said. “I grew up in an old house which my parents never heated, but with my hot-water bottle I’d be warm until morning. It’s a beautiful symbol of efficiency – it’s ridiculous to heat houses at night.”
The other is the toilet. Everyone uses it every day but no one thinks about what it brings in terms of quality of life.
Furniture designer Jasper Morrison chose a Rex vegetable peeler for its durability, economy of material and because it is “satisfying to use and pleasing to look at”. Hirotaka Tako, creative director at Sony, chose a straw hat because it uses waste material, provides sun protection and is “beautifully formed by its own tension”.
Some designers chose concepts. Futurist designer Nick Foster picked the metric system, embodied by a typical school ruler, because it is “the crowning achievement of our species … I cannot think of a single human idea which has so thoroughly accelerated our progress”.
The designers believe that if they can remind visitors to the exhibition of the magic of everyday objects, then they will have succeeded.
Lloyd said: “The cost of purchasing has been so low in the last 20 years or so that a buyer’s only thought is ‘Do I like it?’ From a planetary perspective, we can’t do that any more.
“The toothbrush is the perfect example of what’s gone wrong, in a way – a plastic toothbrush is democratic, cheap and saves people’s teeth. We’re not proposing that we return to bone-handled toothbrushes, but the materials being selected have to change.
“If people are more conscious of the decisions they make, that will be a great thing. Or if they at least think about the magic of these objects – like the fibre-optic cable which goes under the ocean and lets you make a call to the US.”
Katie Treggiden, founder and director of Making Design Circular, an online learning platform for businesses, nominated jewellery by artist Stefanie Ying Lin Cheong for Well Made, which uses utilitarian rocks such as limestone, shale and glaze waste in the place of traditional precious stones. Treggiden said exhibitions like this are vital to the design industry.
“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 on the natural systems that all living things on the planet rely upon.
“Not enough people consider these things when they make things – 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.”
The best designs priced under £20 at Well Made
Disposable bamboo chopsticks chosen by Alexis Georgacopoulous, director of the Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne ECAL
“They are efficiently produced using simple machinery with very little waste as one single piece. It is probably one of the few objects that finds its utility when ‘broken’.”
Mooncup menstrual cup chosen by designer Amy Wolfe
“Although menstrual cups were first invented in the 1930s, Mooncup was the world’s first medical grade silicone cup. Not only do they save money, they are also better for the planet and safer to use than disposable period 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 trainers; from buildings to dental implants. The problem with adhesives is unsticking them when needed to aid repair and recycling. This PVA is reversible.”
No.3 scalpel handle chosen by architect David Scott
“The Swann-Morton No. 3 scalpel handle’s stainless steel construction ensures durability for surgical and craft applications. The ability to replace blades allows the product performance to be renewed with minimal waste.”
£5 note chosen by Design Burger studio
“This features some of the world’s most advanced security features, including elements only detectable by the Bank of England. Hygienic, durable and precisely mass-produced, it exemplifies unparalleled craftsmanship.”
Hot-water bottle chosen by architect Elliot Payne
“Ever relevant in the present cost-of-living crisis, the hot-water bottle provides an inexpensive source of warmth. Moulded in a single piece from natural rubber and largely unchanged for over a century, it is a testament of what it means to be well made.”
Tube clamp chosen by designer Finn Thomson
“The tube clamp holds in all its forms. Signs to posts, pipes to buildings, scaffolding to scaffolding and the ducting in kitchens. This small and strong connection harnesses friction to facilitate adjustable and fixable structures.”
Key chosen by industrial designer Giovanni La Tona
“This is an economical, portable and mechanically precise object. It evolved over the centuries and its shape has been refined and reinvented over the years to increase security and optimise manufacturing. It’s a powerful symbol. Something you should never forget.”
Clothes peg chosen by industrial designer Ineke Hans
“Sometimes parts pop apart, but anyone can repair this. Certainly the old springs last a lifetime. I have taken hundreds from my mother-in-law and still enjoy them.”
Tornado rescue whistle chosen by product designer Jeffery Lambert
“It has no ball inside, allowing it to work on land and in wet or sub-zero conditions. Unlike metal, the plastic stops lips from sticking to it in the cold. It is shatter-proof, ultralight, has a loud high-pitched sound for little effort and is easy to find due to its dayglow 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 the need for power, acting as a portable digital signature that is globally recognised.”