Furniture designer Sebastian Cox discusses why we need to start using British wood.
"The summer is over, and autumn’s here. Looking back, my favourite thing about the summer is the seasonal British-grown food I wait all year to eat - asparagus, strawberries, tomatoes and cherries top my list. I admit, I might very occasionally buy some Spanish tomatoes for a special dish but I avoid imported food as much as possible and I'd never touch air-imported Peruvian asparagus or Ethiopian fine beans.
I'm not the only one doing this. My local supermarket's tomato section provided me with some hard evidence this summer. More often than not, boxes of British tomatoes sat empty while the slightly cheaper Spanish alternatives were still very well stocked. This apparent consumer preference gives me a great deal of joy, and has come about because people have started to think about where their food has come from. Thanks Hugh and Jamie!
I believe this thinking should extend to everything we consume, not just food. Has it ever occurred to you that the wooden things in your house were most likely not grown in Britain, even though we have woodland dotted all over our little island? In fact, let’s take that question further – have you ever stopped to think about what your piece of furniture might have looked like as a plant sucking up CO2 and churning out Oxygen?
I think this question that needs to be asked more often. Not necessarily the one about imagining your furniture as trees, that’s my mind wandering, but the one about where it was grown. We need to start a conversation about British timber. And the person sitting us down, gravely telling us, ‘we need to talk’ is Ed Suttie, the founder and figurehead of Grown in Britain
This month they’re launching Grown in Britain Week to tackle these questions head on and give our forests a sustainable future. They’ll be launching the event at Heal’s flagship store on Tottenham Court Road on October the 14th and I’m so excited.
Not only will they make the essential introductions, connecting tree growers with wood users, they’ll encourage that essential conversation about where our timber comes from. In the way that Hugh and Jamie have done with our food. While I understand we can’t completely satisfy our huge appetite for wood with home grown produce, I’m hugely passionate about where the timber I use comes from and I’ve made a number of wonderful discoveries by being a fussy customer.
Do you know how b-e-a-utiful the most commonly occurring tree in London is when cut up for timber? London Plane has the most spectacular grain pattern and colour, yet is hardly known in contemporary furniture. Even the slightly better known British hardwoods such as Oak and Ash are, in my humble opinion, much more interesting that their American cousins. English Ash has a huge variation in colour ranging from purple to gold to white. Oak has pips, stunning wide flecks, and a range of browns that are too often overlooked.
And here’s the really great bit; the more we manage and use our woodlands for sustainable timber production, the better they become for wildlife and for growing future crops of wood. So don’t just stop at buying British grown fruit and vegetables, start asking where your timber comes from too."
Check out Sebastian Cox's furniture at Heal's.
[ INSPIRATION ]
Behind the design
Designed by Michel Ducaroy and released in 1973, Ligne Roset’s Togo sofa celebrates its 40th birthday this year. We asked the brand’s creative director, Michel Roset, to explain what makes this iconic design so timeless and unique.
Why do you think the Togo has been such an enduring success?
When Togo was created in 1973 it broke the ‘code’ of design. It was totally new, something that had never been seen before. Since then, it has become an icon, representing a time of radical change in the way we understand our living environment and the use of our furniture, the way we welcome friends and family in an informal way, the way we sit, read, and relax. Togo represents a liberation of lifestyle, aesthetics and comfort.
Has the Togo changed at all since 1973?
The comfort, concept and construction have remained the same with only some advances in foam technology adding to the Togo’s durability and comfort. Over the last 40 years only our most skilled upholsters have worked on the Togo as it demands a unique traditional skill for which the human hand remains irreplaceable, executing the precise movements that produce the famous folds which give each piece its character and personality.
Michel Ducaroy’s ground-breaking design must have seemed outlandish in the early 1970s. Was it considered a big risk at the time?
Michel Ducaroy was extremely close to the Roset family and shared our values and ambitions. As head of the design department he became the spearhead of change and innovation. At the time there was a quest for new seating concepts, encouraged by swift changes in in social attitudes.
The advent of new materials such as foams, quilting and thermoformed plastics drove Jean Roset and Michel Ducaroy to develop new production techniques. This quest for new designs, designers, materials and techniques has become the cornerstone of Ligne Roset and the driving force behind the company for the past 40 years.
How have you kept the Togo fresh and contemporary despite it having been around for 40 years?
The best designs are characterised by their ability to cross generations, time and age. The product itself is timeless and not linked to a specific fashion era. It shares the same qualities as a Le Corbusier recliner or a Charles and Ray Eames chair, which will remain timeless.
What is the most unusual fabric you’ve been asked to make it with?
The pixel fabric created by Cristian Zuzunaga was extremely interesting. This digital-meets-analogue pixel design was the perfect example of how the current and modern can be applied to a product as the Togo to make it as at home in the digital age as it was in 1973.
The Togo has appeared in a lot of notable places over the years. Where have you been proudest to see it?
I am a great lover of music, film and sport and some of my favourites are in the homes of Avril Lavigne, Lenny Kravitz, Thierry Henry and Gerard Depardieu. Looking at this list of names shows again how the Togo has crossed borders, generations and tastes.
The Balzac armchair is probably one of the most important pieces of furniture of the last twenty years. Permanently exhibited at London’s V&A museum, the chair’s reputation for innovative design is known the world over. Designed by Matthew Hilton and created by furniture manufacturers SCP, the Balzac was born out of Hilton’s observations on the way people actually sit comfortably in chairs – which is very rarely bolt upright. Handmade to order in Norfolk, skilled craftsmen at the SCP warehouse create the iconic armchair by using a solid beech frame, steel spring platform, duck foam seat cushions and rounded American oak legs to add the finishing touch. A true interior masterpiece, the Balzac has gone on to become the bestselling SCP chair of all time.
HEAL'S DISCOVERS
HEAL'S DISCOVERS
Ed Heritage
As part of this season’s Heal’s Discovers initiative, we’re delighted to introduce Ed Heritage, an award-winning UK-based designer whose signature style of clean geometry and playful details is reflected in the beautiful lamp he created.
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