William Warren » Trico

Silhouette Chair ‘Victoria’

William — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:33:02 +0000

The ‘Victoria’ chair is the wife of ‘Albert’, the Silhouette chair that I designed for Trico in 2001. Both chairs are developed from the shapes of traditional English chairs and made in laminated plywood. The result is an elegant shape, which is aware of the chairs that have gone before it.

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

Look Back Mirror

William — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:26:38 +0000

This full-length wall mirror presents a modern exterior alongside a more traditional hidden form. What at first appears to be an undecorated square mirror frame reveals the ‘ghost’ of a traditional molded gilt frame when you look into the mirror.

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

Dangerous Rug

William — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:16:48 +0000

The ‘Dangerous’ rug is a nostalgic link with my childhood, a time when everything could be a game. I often had to travel around the room without touching the floor because of the crocodiles.

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

Link to rug on Trico’s website

Silhouette Chair ‘Albert’

William — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:29:44 +0000

In England, this is a common shape for a chair. An archetype. The shape has evolved rather than been designed. It originated from the qualities of the wood from which it is constructed and the processes available to make it in the past. It has been reproduced often because it is strong and comfortable.

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

Chinese Whispers

William — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:14:41 +0000

Willow pattern is a common English crockery design that has been popular for over two hundred years. The pattern originates from China and was ‘interpreted’ by Europeans. This version is now it is manufactured in Japan. The design has traveled backward and forward with a suitable amount of development with each trip, like the game of Chinese whispers.

The ceramics are produced in the usual way, with transfers applied to standard white ceramics, but this time with each piece ‘wearing’ the wrong ceramic transfer. The saucer has the graphic that would normally wrap around the cup, while the cup has the saucer transfer. The large plate has the graphic that fits the side plate and the smaller plate has only room for a section of the larger plates decoration.

I have not ‘designed’ anything here. Simply interfered with the production process. The result is to see more clearly the the people on the production line as they are given the small freedom to choose how the product will look. Each object it’s different.

The Chinese Whispers crockery set was designed for Trico in 2001.

Click here to go to the cups and saucers on Trico’s website

Click here to go to the sideplates on Trico’s website

Click here to go to the plates on Trico’s website

Wipe Mirror

William — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 12:06:52 +0000

This is an early example of process led product design. I started this project in 2001.

I wiped stop-out varnish onto mirrors and allowed the varnish to run as it dried. The mirrors were later emersed in a bath of sugar acid, which etched into the glass that was not protected with varnish. The mirrors were then cleaned of varnish to reveal a series of unique patterns that resemble condensation. The design now produced in Japan by screen printing in a matt clear lacquer.

Click here for the mirrors on Trico’s website

Fob Off Keyrings

William — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 08:23:10 +0000

Part of the ‘Negative’ range of products I produced shortly after graduating from a silversmithing MA in 1997. The larger chubb keyring is also able to open beer bottles.

The keyrings are now manufactured by Trico in Japan.

To link to the keyrings on Trico’s website click here

Pub Sofa and Armchairs

William — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:28:23 +0000

The Pub Sofa and Armchairs carry the traditional within the modern. The simple modern cube sofa contains the memories of older sofa styles. The deep buttoned velvet sofa is at a slight angle to the exterior to reinforce the two at slightly at odds with each other.

The sofa and armchairs were launched at a solo show in Tokyo called ‘Lovable, Alternative Folk Design, during their design week in December 2007.

Link to sofa on Trico’s website

Link to armchair on Trico’s website

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Terrace Sideboard

William — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:23:22 +0000

The Terrace sideboard plays with the idea of ‘home’. Home is where things belong. As my dad would say when encouraging me to tidy up his tools, “There is a home for everything and everything must go back to it’s home.” The terraced house is a very English home and a sideboard is a home for our things.

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

Link to sideboard on Trico’s website

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Drunk Wine Glass

William — Fri, 03 Oct 2003 13:04:39 +0000

This design grew from the observation that when identical objects roll off the production line, it is the mistakes that have more quality and personality.

With the difficult craft of glassblowing, the more skilled you are, the more perfect or identical your blown pieces will be. The better you are at the craft, the more your output will look like a machine had produced them. It seems a shame that one of the aims of the skill is to hide itself.

The ‘Drunk’ wine glass was blown by highly skilled craftsmen, but only after they had been drinking wine. It shows a little more clearly that it has been blown by a craftsman and not a machine. The wine forces the mistakes and the otherwise standard glass takes on the character of drinking wine.

Link to glass on Trico’s website