Hasta La Ideas

London Design Festival 2013: designer Philippe Malouin built an analogue 3D printer to create moulds from piles of sugar for this range of plates and bowls (+ movie).

The Dunes collection by Canadian designer Philippe Malouin has been commissioned for Staffordshire ceramics company 1882 Ltd.

Malouin’s custom-made machine features a box frame and a wooden turntable that is powered by a small motor and controlled by a computer.

Grains of sugar are poured into a funnel and fall onto a spinning cylinder positioned on the turntable beneath, where they pile up to form structures like cylindrical sand dunes.

The resulting shape was used to make a silicone negative, then cast in plaster and given to 1882 to produce in bone china. The final bone china pieces retain a sandy texture and have been finished with a matte glaze.

Originally Malouin tried using sand, however explained the material was difficult to use. “I originally started to try and ‘freeze’ these sand dunes by spraying resin onto them, but each time I would try and cast the resulting shape with silicone, the sand would stick to the cast and the shape would be altered,” said Malouin.

He later realised that sugar was the perfect substitute, as any grains clinging to the silicone could be washed away with water.

The printer created shapes that Malouin said could not be designed by hand or a computer and was perfect for creating plates and bowls. “All that was needed was to change the diameter of the sand dune in order to create a smaller dish,” Malouin told Dezeen.

“I was interested in designing the process that would produce the shape of the dishes. Not necessarily designing the dish directly,” said Malouin.

Here’s a video showing the making process:

The Dunes collection is on display – alongside Max Lamb’s crockery made from lumps of plaster – at the Sand & Clay exhibition at Paper Tiger, The Basement, 10 Exhibition Road, SW7 2HF until 22 September.

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Photographs are by Eva Feldkamp.

Here’s some additional information from the gallery:

Dunes by Philippe Malouin

Dunes is a stunning collection of fine bone china tableware featuring skillfully hand-crafted plates and bowls from one of the design world’s most applauded new talents. Slip-cast from plaster models, the collection maximises Malouin’s beautifully minimalistic patterns through analogue 3D printing. The analogue 3d printer made by Malouin, creates shapes that cannot be designed by hand or computer. Only movement, imperfection and randomised material deposition form the pieces. The shapes formed are carefully utilised and transformed into functional china pieces, highlighting the skill of the craftsman and creating a collection that wonderfully exemplifies its title of – Dunes.

About 1882 Ltd

1882 Ltd. is thrilled to announce their new collections for September 2013, fusing 130 years of traditional British heritage with fresh and contemporary new designs. The collections feature works from some of the world’s leading talents. These included an extended collection of ‘Crockery’ by Max Lamb, ‘Fragile Hearts’ by Mr Brainwash, ‘Standard Ware’ by Fort Standard and ‘Gashu’ by Alan Hughes and ‘Dunes’ by Philippe Malouin: all made of fine bone china, harnessing the tradition of the company originally set-up by the Johnson Brothers in the heart of the Stoke-on-Trent potteries in 1882. To this day, 1882 Ltd. remains a family business following its rebirth in 2011 by Emily Johnson and her father Christopher.

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London designer Max Lamb used stonemasonry tools to hand-carve the models for this crockery collection from lumps of plaster.

The resulting forms were used to make plaster moulds from which jugs, bowls and mugs were slip-cast by Staffordshire ceramics company 1882 Ltd.

While the exterior surfaces have been left raw, the interiors are glazed for practical use.

The collection will be launched at an exhibition hosted by 1882 Ltd. during the London Design Festival next month.

Bone China will be open from 14 to 22 September at 169 Draycott Avenue, London SW3 3AJ.

Other products by Lamb we’ve featured on Dezeen include a bronze chair cast from hand-carved polystyrene and furniture cut from solid rock.

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Here’s some more information from 1882 Ltd.:

Crockery by Max Lamb for 1882 Ltd.
Fine bone china tableware, made in Staffordshire, England.

A collection of fine bone china tableware slip-cast from plaster models carved by hand, with glazed interior for functionality and raw exterior reflecting the modest surface texture of the plaster original.

The process of slip-casting begins with the creation of a three-dimensional model of the design known as a ‘master’ by a professional model-maker, from which the production mould is cast. Crockery bypasses this process by placing the responsibility of both designer and model-maker in the hands of Max Lamb. Using the tools of a stone mason Lamb chips and carves a solid block of plaster to make a jug, bowl or mug, the design of each formed quite simply out of their own making.

1882

In 1882 the Johnson Brothers began producing ceramics in the heart of the Stoke-on-Trent Potteries. 130 years later 1882 Ltd. continues the Johnson legacy with the company name evoking the deep routes of the family heritage. 1882 Ltd. was formed in 2011 by fifth generation Emily Johnson and her father, Christopher, who has worked in the industry since 1958. The first collection for 1882 Ltd. were the much heralded lights entitled ‘Bone’ – bisque and rumbled white bone china vessels offering a diffused illumination which celebrate the translucency of the fine bone china.

1882 Ltd’s mission is to champion inventively designed ceramic products from lighting to domestic ware whilst employing the manufacturing heritage of North Staffordshire and promoting the British ceramic industry. In collaborating with exceptionally talented designers to realise their interpretation of a very traditional material and craft, 1882 Ltd. will bring innovative ceramics to a wider audience while supporting a valuable UK resource.

Max Lamb

London-based Max Lamb was born in Cornwall, England, an upbringing that imbued him with a love of nature and a creative spirit which have manifested in his practice as designer and maker. He graduated from the Royal College of Art, London in 2006, was named Designer of the Future at Design Miami/Basel in 2008 and continues to both produce and exhibit his work internationally.

Lamb is known for creating beautifully crafted pieces that have materials and traditional processes at their core. He looks to design products that stimulate dialogue between maker, product and user through a visual simplicity that effectively communicates the obvious.

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for 1882 Ltd. appeared first on Dezeen.