The onset of Covid-19 significantly changed the way people live, interact and work.

Creatives and makers have had to adjust their processes using new technologies to work together at a distance and often operate from new, improvised, home offices. Originating from these new processes, nine imaginative and original tables and sating designs created by nine leading international designers and beautifully made in one of Europe’s top craft workshops, were shown in an installation called Connected, at the Design Museum in London.

The American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC), Benchmark Furniture and the Design Museum challenged these designers to create a table and seating for their personal use, to suit their new ways of living and working from home.

The designers had a choice of three sustainable American hardwoods to work with – red oak, maple or cherry. They were also invited to record their creative journeys to demonstrate how they approached the brief and developed their designs at a time of limited physical contact.

This extraordinary installation showcases the results of a unique experiment that sets out to push the boundaries of what is possible with these timbers and to explore how designers and craftspeople adapted their working practices during lockdown.

The project demanded that both the designers and craftspeople at Benchmark work innovatively, by relying solely on digital communication and video conferencing, to bring the designers’ visions to life. This approach required a new level of trust in the makers, since the designers had no physical contact with their pieces whilst they were being made at Benchmark’s Berkshire workshop during the summer.

Wood was the selected material of choice for this design challenge because it is renewable and easily recycled. It can be used both as a material and a fuel; it is low impact and a carbon store. Strong for its weight, wood is also tactile, versatile and visually appealing, adding warmth to interiors and benefiting people’s health. With the world facing the ever-increasing impacts of climate change and of over- consumption of high-impact materials, the emphasis needs to shift to the environmental merits of making more use of what nature is growing.

Studiopepe’s Pink Moon plays with the idea of cycles of renewal and new beginnings, inspired by the Pink moon in spring. 'Pink Moon' tends to appear in the night sky of April with a pinkish hue and it is named after the blooming flowers of the Moss pink — one of the first spring flowers.

According to Native Americans, it represents the focus on new and exciting things that could bloom up in your life during this season. It pushes us to take an active role, focusing on that call to action and how that affects your current life circumstances.⁠

The perimeter of the table heavily draws the skyline of the mountains. The headrest of the chair, which is dominant to the structure of the seat, becomes a rising moon, recalling a strong need for rebirth.⁠

The legs of the table, designed through inlay technique, have a strong reference to the decorative techniques of Native American tribes who used geometric decorations (such as triangles and chevrons) as symbols of protection. A symbol of union and collectivity that today, more than ever, we need to embrace.⁠

The project’s construction involved contrasting inlay details on the table’s legs and a contemporary seat inspired by a Charles Rennie Mackintosh frame.

American maple was chosen for this piece. Timber was first selected and CNC cut for the leg inlays. These pieces were then stained and oiled, a process that dyed the timber through. The tabletop was planked and then cut on CNC to the desired nature-inspired form. Legs were mitered together, and then the contrasting inlay fitted flush.

The chair’s unusual backrest comprises a large maple ‘moon’, CNC machined in two halves, drilled to accept the back legs, and then stained. When the two halves are brought together, a seamless joint will be created, with the Pink Moon suspended by the Mackintosh-inspired frame.

Studiopepe’s Pink Moon piece is available for viewing online through a virtual version of the installation on connectedbydesign.online.

Photos courtesy of Studiopepe