The Sussex Trug is a type of traditional basket made in the South East. Originally, trugs were made for manual labour, shifting earth or rocks but now they are more commonly used for gardening. The object is a wonderful example of an evolved design, where the form is derived from a mixture of functionality, structure, the performance of materials and simple hand processes. There is nothing styled here or unnecessary. They are lightweight and incredably strong and can last for over fifty years if used and much longer if not.

Learning how to make trugs has helped me appreciate how great these little practical baskets are. Over the next couple of months, a selection of other designers will also learn these skills, and we are hoping to generate some interesting responses to trugs which will be show during London design week in September.

The guitar is a 1;18 Martin parlour. I’ve used cherry for the back and sides, spruce for the front and mahogany for the neck with a load of other woods. Whatever I can find really.

The chair has a seat made from a single plank of Ash, carved into a comfortable bottom shape. Like the Sunray chair designed at the same time, the seat’s spindles all run into the lower rails of the chair, rather than the seat block, as they would in a traditional windsor chair. The back bow is formed by steaming long sections of green ash (not fully dried timber) before bending around a former.

The upholstery strips are jute webbing, which is a standard upholstery material, but normally hidden under springs, cushions and fabrics. In this chair the webbing is left exposed, woven in a three way pattern and joined to the lower rails and the upper bow.

This chair was designed during a weekend factory visit to Sitting Firm, a manufacturer of traditional windsor chairs near coventry, as an extension of the Bodging Milano project.

Please contact me directly if you are interested in buying one of these chairs.

The spindles in the back do not run into the seat block, but instead fan out from the lower back rail giving a sun rise effect. The top of the seat has nothing joining into it, allowing the curve back and seat to sit comfortably together without touching.

The chair can be used for dining as part of a set with the Sunray Table (not yet finalised), or used individually.

This chair is manufactured by Case and will be sold through the John Lewis department stores.

It will be launched at London Design Festival 2010

In the three days, I managed to produce three chairs; two armchairs of the same design and a dining seat.

At the end of the exhausting week a van arrived in the woods to take all nine chairs to Milan, where they were exhibited with Designersblock at Spazio Revel, during the Milan Furniture Fair which took place 14th – 19th April 2010.

The designers were: Amos Marchant, Carl Clerkin, Chris Eckersley, Dave Green, Gareth Neal, Gitta Gschwendtner, Rory Dodd, Suzanne Barnes and William Warren.

Link to press about the project

Link to Crafts Council review of the project

The stools were launched at the British Design Embassy during the Milan Design Festival in April 2009.

Victoria was launched at a solo show in Tokyo called ‘Lovable, Alternative Folk Design, during their design week in December 2007.

Link to chair on Trico’s website

The mirror was launched at a solo show in Tokyo called ‘Lovable, Alternative Folk Design, during their design week in December 2007.

Link to mirror on Trico’s website

My version of the chair is made in laminated plywood. This process works by gluing together thin sheets or ‘veneers’ of wood over a mould. A technique commonly used to produce seating, pioneered by Charles Eames in the 1940’s.

This chair is either the ‘wrong’ shape for the process or the ‘wrong’ process for the shape, but ultimately it is a chair that is aware of its heritage.

This chair was the first piece of furniture I developed for Trico. They launched it in a solo show in Tokyo in 2001.

Link to chair on Trico’s website