Show 17: Common Senses

This interpretation could be taken any way for example; 

Quality of life at a human level be it communication, creativity, collaboration or pleasure 
Quality of design, craftsmanship, detailing, material, texture, beauty, lightness 
Simplicity of life, design, message, essence, distillation 

We were thrilled with the results and the five different approaches. What came through was the designers search for that essence of something extra that makes it recognisably special and beyond fashion. Hence the name Common Senses. 

Libby Sellers, author of 'Women Design'

We invited Libby Sellers to join us for a discussion with the designers and to write the foreword for the publication that accompanied the exhibition. We have included her thoughts on the ideas behind Common Senses below.

"Resolutions, as Oscar Wilde knew, are polemical. In The Picture of Dorian Gray, Lord Henry declared, “Good resolutions are useless attempts to interfere with scientific laws. Their origin is pure vanity. Their result is absolutely nil.” For the most part, my own resolutions usually dissolve faster than the aspirin. Yet one that has been conscientiously developing is to stop using brand names as verbs. 

Instead of Googling, I’ve gone back to searching the internet. Hoovering is avoided, instead I embrace the vacuuming. Courier rather than Fed-Ex; talk online rather than WhatsApp; and so on through all manner of actions including Supergluing, Photoshop-ing, and (should it ever be desirable) Jet-skiing. Pure vanity? No. Pedantic? Probably. But by turning a brand into a verb, we give that brand authority over our actions. 

To stop ‘verbifying’ (which itself is a verbified word), is both to reclaim agency from ‘The Man’ and to focus on the actual process; the journey between action and consequence." 

"That we need reminding to be mindful of our actions is nothing new: the instruction has been on permanent repeat from Socratic thought to Zen Buddhism; from the humanist, liberal ideologies of John Stuart Mill’s Victorian era Utilitarianism, and through our own era’s various Slow movements. 

At the risk of over-simplifying these complex systems into a single strategy, a common tenet is that of conscientiously informed action in the pursuit of wellbeing. As ripostes to a universal mind-set that posits outcome over experience, quantity over quality, linear over cyclical and consistency over adaptability – that they endure is because they speak to something quite fundamental: the need to engage in a more effective way. 

And so to design: a concept that, as the twentieth century marched towards professional industrialisation, was conjugated to embrace meaning as verb, noun and adjective (not always to positive effect). By returning design’s focus to process, the journey between action and consequence, perhaps it can also reclaim some agency from ‘The Man’ and set more conscientiously minded goals. 

In the context of this foreword, I’m likely preaching to the converted – though that we all need reminding bears witness to the great shift in attitude embraced by many contemporary design practitioners and particularly those in Common Senses." - Libby Sellers

"Far from being some nostalgic or luddite entreaty to a pre-industrial utopia, they employ technology in order to collaborate, communicate and develop. Acknowledging all the anxieties and messiness of our time, they offer design methodological solutions rather than ideological statements. Rather than designing for industry, they design for humanity. 

If, as it is suggested, we are heading towards the ‘fourth Industrial Revolution’ with its “potential to ‘robotize’ humanity and thus to deprive us of our heart and soul,” then design’s resolution should be to redress this future with conscientious, creative and empathetic action." - Libby Sellers

Farah Ebrahimi, Art Director of e15

"I appreciate unpretentious drama together with function in architectural spaces. For me the Common Senses installation is a special statement about finding beauty in basic elements, down to earth values, and exchange of diverse cultures. It is also an intuitive reaction to the much-hyped products or brands we see in the market, not to mention where our society or its values are going.  

For the Common Senses installation I chose to create a basic living room scene, where the furniture reflects a metaphoric dialogue of personal items that focus on celebrating creativity and quality over the blunt display of wealth and status. 

The setting is arranged on a traditional Persian carpet with a spare aesthetic that defines expressive contrasts in form, material and typology. The sofa Shiraz is covered in grey flannel and is accompanied by various side tables in pure materials such as Enoki Migoto in oiled marble, Habibi in polished brass, Backenzahn in European walnut and Calvert Chess  by e15, along with a pair of Monobloc chairs and some of my favourite books. 

The Monobloc is present in almost all cultures, this singular chair encompasses industrial design and modern manufacturing technique; at the same time it communicates our universal socio-economic conditions while always contextually remaining in the background. It is honest, and serves its purpose without pretention, and I like that." 

Ilse Crawford

Founder of Studioilse
Head of Man & Wellbeing department
Design Academy Eindhoven 

Common senses, materials with meaning 

Materials matter. We connect to our environment through materials, and our values are literally embodied in the way they are produced, designed, used and disposed of. 

These graduates from the Man and Wellbeing department of the Design Academy Eindhoven, NL, concern themselves with researches and reinterpretations of basic materiality to create new materials with meaning. 

As Head of the Department, and through her work at Studioilse Ilse Crawford champions a design process that puts people and human values at the core. 

This thread is inherent in these examples that consider new potential for existing materials, challenge old processes in favour of more sustainable ones, create usable products from waste material or transform them to become more appealing and sensual. They are beautiful and resourceful. 

Agne Kucerenkaite | 'Ignorance is Bliss' 
Tom van Soest | Stonecycling 
Nina Gautier | Urtica
Don Kwaning | Lino leather 

Don Kwaning, Lino leather

Graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2018.

An investigation of linoleum production, in collaboration with Forbo, to improve it’s existing qualities, add new characteristics and uses. Experimentations led to self-supporting materials with improved depth, flexibility and texture, opening up new opportunities for use. Alterations to the production process included adding natural materials such as wood or limestone in varying quantities and pressing different types of long and short vegetal fibres into the material.

Nina Gautier, Urtica.

Graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2014.

A study of the nettle (stinging nettle) reveals the plant's properties could be used for everything from fabrics to medicines. It highlights the value of vegetation and brings awareness to the holistic approach we could have towards plants in general.

The research focuses on the nettle's potential for textiles, with fibres mixed into fabrics that are surprisingly strong, soft and silky. Performing great qualities like high tear resistance, long durability and thermal regulation, it is an environmentally friendly alternative to today's textiles. A range of colours was developed by investigating various dyeing techniques and different parts of the stinging nettle.

Through alchemical research Nina Gautier created a collection of products that manifests an extremely wide range of applications in food, medicine, textile and colour. The blanket 'URTICA raw' applies the hand spun nettle yarn in its raw colour, showing the strength and durability of this fibre.

Agne Kucerenkaite, 'Ignorance is Bliss' 

Graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2016.

An ongoing project to find valuable uses for toxic metal waste collected from industries such as water treatment plants and soil remediation companies. Metals are a non-renewable resource and metal mining affects air, water quality and life forms. 

Agne experimented with different techniques to find use for this waste product and a broad-scale research unveiled potential for its colouring properties. The metal waste, collected in the form of sludge, passes through a preparation process of drying, milling, and sieving so it can be used as a pigment for glass or a ceramic glaze. When fired at high temperatures the toxic pigment is sealed within the glaze and glass and becomes safe to use. Surprisingly, the more contaminated the raw material, the more vibrant the designed objects are.

A series of ceramic tiles have been developed from this research, colored using pigment derived from 100% industrial metal waste. Available to order via Agne's website.

Tom van Soest, Stonecycling 

Graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2012.

Debris from construction and demolition is one of the biggest waste streams in the world. Current initiatives for recycling this waste often lead to downcycling while at the same time tonnes of raw materials are dug up each year to turn in to building products. Tom saw both a need and an opportunity to come up with a new type of building material made primarily of waste. Many experiments were conducted to find the right mixture, shape and heating process to create sustainable and circular building materials that are resilient, appealing and prove it’s possible to build high-quality structures from waste.

After graduating, Tom started StoneCycling with Ward Massa and in 2015 they unveiled their first series of WasteBasedBricks. All bricks meet today’s industry requirements and can be used for both the interior and exterior of buildings.

Nani Marquina, Nanimarquina

Nanimarquina travels the world uncovering manual techniques, culture and craft heritage, applying this first-hand knowledge in the creation of rugs.

The research into different tools, looms and artisanal techniques allows the brand to constantly learn and grow, which is palpable in all its products.

Nature is undoubtedly the main source of inspiration.

Shade, for example, is inspired by the magical moments in nature, when colours melt and speak for themselves. In the same way that colours flow in the sky, the Shade rugs achieve an intricate and emotional gradient. The flat-weave Shade rug generates an incredible and well-rounded diffusion of colour. The surface releases a sense of tranquillity and wellbeing that is balanced by the penetrating vibration of colours.

The Tres collection, however, pays homage to weaving and the inter-crossing of natural fibres.This traditional Indian flat-weave Dhurrie rug is produced in three independent parts in which different fibres predominate unevenly. Wool, felt and cotton generate changes in tone and irregularities in the weave, bringing the pattern to life.

At the same time, Herb focuses on highlighting the intrinsic benefits of the little-known hemp plant fibre. The discontinuity in the thickness of the fibre is a direct result of the hand-spun hemp, influencing both the fabric and the irregular dyeing. This is a rug filled with vibrant life, as the shine of Herb's hemp will evolve over time. In each new collection, the search for balance is more latent, combining creativity with heritage and contemporaneity with tradition.

Nina Maso, Santa & Cole

People and objects gather in the vicinity of light. Light sorts, articulates or enables places, turning them into settings. To conceive light is to consider how we live, reflect our material culture. Not accumulating but rather selecting; not delighting in quantity but rather in quality; not to show but rather to share. 

Since 1985 Santa & Cole have been committed to designing products aimed at improving the quality of our homes, offices and privately owned public spaces (commercial areas, hotels and restaurants).

At Viaduct, Santa & Cole presents the newest releases from its catalogue: re-editions, family extensions products and new finishes. Timeless objects with a highly diverse range of origins and uses, that share the same concept of design, reflecting a specific lifestyle. Lamps that embody comfort rather than impact, that interact with their surroundings, whether in the home or in communal areas, in the absence of sunlight.

Fien Muller, Muller Van Severen 

"The little installations are combinations of materials, colours and samples that grow together in a spontaneous way in our studio or in our home.

Someone has found something interesting and puts it on a cupboard, so he or she doesn’t forget. Another one puts something next to it, or on it…  After a while they become ‘small worlds’ in themselves that inspire me significantly.  They are dialogues between people that arise in silence and pop up almost as a sculpture… unexpected, unconsidered, pure and direct… straight from the heart… directly for the love of materials and colours.

They are, in a way, ‘one minute’ installations because they are removed again just as quickly as they were made.

In this exhibition I want to give them attention because they are so important in making our work.  We can sometimes use them for an idea, as a colour-combination, a proportion or a material.  I place these assemblages on our furniture, which become pedestals for mini sculptures that I want to put into the spotlight this time.  In this way it happens in a reverse direction.

In the past, I used to make similar objects to make photographs out of them- now they are spontaneously created to inspire and as a way of not forgetting them."

All photography by Nicholas Worley.