For the London Design Festival 2018, SCP present a new chair and sofa by designer Gareth Neal, in collaboration with fashion brand Folk.
This project brings together two British companies with a reputation for understated elegance, high-quality manufacturing and idiosyncratic style. The project seeks to explore the possibilities and limitations of cyclic manufacturing, the potential of sharing materials and the need for greater permanence in what we produce.
Folk founder Cathal McAteer and furniture designer Gareth Neal began a conversation about creating a new furniture design that could utilise some of the excess fabric that is a natural part of the production of clothes. They approached Sheridan Coakley, the founder of SCP, to discuss the idea. The result is a collaboration that sees a new chair and sofa design by Gareth Neal fully upholstered in surplus Folk fabric, with the addition of a specially created removable saddle bag, which is made from surplus leather from SCP’s specialist upholstery factory in Norfolk.
Corner armchair, two seat sofa and three sofa, fully upholstered in surplus Folk fabric. With additional removable saddle bag, made from surplus leather from SCP’s specialist upholstery factory in Norfolk.
About Gareth Neal
Gareth Neal’s design practice was established in 2002 and is currently located in the creative heart of East London, specialising in the design of unique pieces, both for industry and private clientèle.
His designs address his own open-ended research question, that investigates the space in-between design and craft with objects that explore both contemporary craftsmanship and digital manufacture and whether our human relationship with furniture is intrinsically and emotionally connected to methods of manufacture and the materials used within its construction.
His work has gained critical acclaim, featuring in numerous publications and exhibitions, both in the UK and internationally.
About Folk
Folk is quietly elegant clothing enriched by subtle details: style without drama.
Their collections are approachable. The name, Folk, implies something democratic, for everyone. Since 2002, they have been making for customers who have confidence in themselves, who live the idea of ‘have more than you show’.
Their fashion exists in a larger context of modern, tactile product design; from the very beginning they looked at areas beyond clothing to the point that Folk is now a genuine, multi discipline design studio with exquisite furniture, objects and artwork.
