Hasta La Ideas

Self-production versus royalties was the hot topic at this year’s Blickfang designworkshop, held at Boisbuchet in France and led by designer Sebastian Wrong (+ movie).

Around a dozen young designers attended the workshop, which was established to help young designers develop the skills they need to turn their creativity into successful businesses.

“We thought it would be a good idea to bring together the professional design scene with independent, young designers and create a platform where they can discuss the business part of design,” said Blickfang CEO Jennifer Reaves.

The annual workshop compliments the Blickfang design markets that are held in various cities around Europe each year, where young designers sell their products direct to the public.

“[The workshop is] about exchanging ideas and experiences on how this job, this passion, can bring a monthly income,” said Reaves. “It’s basically about the business prospects of being a designer; getting a reality check about how this business really works.”

The workshop was held between 11 and 13 June at Domaine de Boisbuchet, a country estate in southwestern France that hosts design workshops every summer.

Over the three days of the workshop, designers presented their ideas and explained the issues they were facing to a group of curators including former Established & Sons creative director Sebastian Wrong (who now heads new design venture Wrong for Hay), Authentics founder Hansjerg Maier-Aichen, journalist and Magazin curator Eva Steidl, and Dezeen founder and editor-in-chief Marcus Fairs.

“It brought to the surface a real current issue in the design world, which is about whether designers should actually look after the production themselves, or go down the more conventional route of selling a design to a company that will distribute and sell it,” said Wrong. “It’s all too easy to pursue your dreams and forget about the really important factor, which is: what is it going to cost?”

“We were very excited when we got the invitation to come to Boisbuchet, because of the thrilling curators,” said workshop attendee Nina Wolf of German designers Nju Studio. “We discussed our products and we discussed the price, which is one of the biggest problems for start-ups.”

She added: “The workshop was great, like a brainwash but in a very positive way.”

“I really wanted to hear the opinions of other people, and hear how they bring their products to market,” said another attendee, Dutch designer Charley Reijnders. “It was really good that we had to put our feet on the ground and really start thinking about money and about business. Because at the end of the day, this is my job.”

Other attendees featured in the movie include Jonas Schroeder of Joval, and Phillip Beisheim.

Last year’s Blickfang designworkshop was held in Copenhagen and was headed by Jaime Hayon. In 2011, the workshop took place in Vienna under chief curators Stefan Diez.

Blickfang designworkshop is supported by MINI. The soundtrack to the movie is Getting Funky by Wave Crushers, via Dezeen Music Project.

The post “Should designers look after production
themselves – or sell their ideas?” appeared first on Dezeen.

News: Sebastian Wrong has resigned as design director of Established & Sons, becoming the fourth of five founding partners to exit the British design brand.

Established & Sons was founded in 2005 by designers Tamara Caspersz, Mark Holmes, Alasdhair Willis and Sebastian Wrong together with Angad Paul of business group Caparo.

Renowned for its extravagant parties in the first few years, the brand was initially set up as a platform for British design and manufacturing but has more recently been working with international designers such as Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec and Konstantin Grcic.

Casperz and Holmes left Established & Sons in 2008 to set up the London-based design brand Minimalux, then Willis departed two years later to start The Anonymous Partner branding agency.

Last year Wrong launched The Wrong Shop, intended for leading designers to experiment with unorthodox production methods, at the Qubique design event in Berlin.

“I have been very privileged to have been part of the Established & Sons team from the very beginning and am proud of the great things we have achieved,” said Wrong in a statement. “Our vision as a brand has made a significant mark in the industry as a creative force that has inspired many. I am looking forward to concentrating on new projects at this time and wish the business every success for the future.”

Established & Sons is now led by Angad Paul and CEO Maurizio Mussati, who was appointed to the role following Willis’ departure.

Last year Dezeen filmed Wrong giving a tour of Established & Sons’ exhibition inside a former fire station Berlin Tempelhof airport as part of the design fair Qubique 2011.

More recently we featured Established & Sons’ exhibition of benches at the V&A museum as part of this year’s London Design Festival, which included designs from Jasper Morrison, AL_A and Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby.

See all our stories about Sebastian Wrong »
See all our stories about Established & Sons »

The post Sebastian Wrong resigns
from Established & Sons appeared first on Dezeen.

Dezeen Wire: designer and co-founder of British brand Established & Sons Sebastian Wrong has launched The Wrong Shop, his own retail venture focusing on limited edition products by leading designers.

The Wrong Shop launched at the Qubique design event in Berlin with an auction of editioned furniture by Sebastian Wrong, Konstantin Grcic, Jerszy Seymour and Wrong with Richard Woods, which raised £4,000 for children’s charity Kids Company.

The new project will encourage designers to work outwith the boundaries of commercial production and explore complex, experimental and unorthodox methods of production.

See all of our stories about Established & Sons here and stories from Qubique here.

Here are some more details about The Wrong Shop:

Sebastian Wrong Launches The Wrong Shop at Qubique in Berlin

Designer Sebastian Wrong will launch his new, personal venture, The Wrong Shop, during the Qubique furniture and design trade show in Berlin, on 26 October 2011.

‘The launch will be in the form of an auction with proceeds going to charity,’ says Wrong. ‘I am very excited to be launching it in Berlin, an exciting city at the forefront of European creativity.’

The auction of new products designed by Richard Woods & Sebastian Wrong (chair), Konstantin Grcic (table), Jerszy Seymour (chair) and Sebastian Wrong (table) will take place during the opening festivities on the first night, 26 October 2011, 7pm. But the pieces will be on display for the duration of the show, until 29 October.

Wrong’s role as Design Director at Established & Sons has given Wrong inspiration to start a side-project that allows the world’s leading designers to explore their creativity without the usual restrictions that come with volume production in a retail-driven market. During the Qubique auction guests will have the chance to bid on these first-off, signed series. Profits from the auction go to the Kids Company charity. (www.kidsco.org.uk)

‘The provenance of production is an essential feature of this business,’ says Wrong. ‘We manufacture in small series which we sell directly to our customers. This allows us to be more flexible in the design and develop products of a quality normally associated with bespoke manufacturing. But most importantly, it moves consumers closer to the source of the manufacturing process, about which we are very transparent. There is huge skill and specialist knowledge in the making of a beautiful piece of furniture. You will appreciate your piece more if you understand who made it and how it was made.’

About Sebastian Wrong

Sebastian Wrong studied sculpture at Norwich School of Art before forming his own manufacturing company in 1996 and later co-created the The Lane design brand that ran for four years. He designed the Spun Light in 2002 (now produced by Flos) and is a founding member and Design Director of Established & Sons. He also teaches Product Design at the Royal College of Art.

Sebastian’s extensive knowledge of manufacturing processes and materials, as well as his passion for quality product fabrication, are essential components of his Wrong Shop mission.