Hasta La Ideas

London Design Festival 2010: the Design Products department at the Royal College of Art in London have launched a collection of pieces for sale, designed by the course’s graduates.

Top: Happiness in Daily Life by Fabien Cappello
Above: Naturally False Cabinet by Els Woldhek

The inaugural collection, entitled First Hand, was selected by head of department Tord Boontje and senior tutor Gareth Williams.

Above: Metro cabinet by Will Shannon

Available pieces include Pixel vases by Julian Bond (see our earlier story), Sugar jewellery by Greetje van Helmond (see our earlier story here), and a table made of cardboard and resin by El Ultimo Grito.

Above: Pixel Vase by Julian Bond

Designs in the collection are for serial production and are available to buy through the Design Products Collection website, catalogue or from the exhibition, which continues at the Royal College of Art until 7 October.

Above: Raymond table by David Amar

The following information is from the college:

The Design Products Collection is a new initiative by the Design Products department at the Royal College of Art (RCA), London. It launches with an exhibition at the RCA during the London Design Festival from 23 September to 7 October 2010.

Above: Keel stool/side table by Oscar Narud

RCA students produce some of the best design in the world, yet there is sometimes a gap between a great student project and a realisable product for the market. The Design Products Collection is a bridge for graduates and faculty of the RCA Design Products Department to make their original and innovative design proposals commercially viable. These products are intended for serial production and are not made in limited editions. In most cases they are made or produced by the designers themselves allowing them to be uncompromising, even radical. The aim of the Collection is to take new design ideas to a broad public and over time it is intended to add subsequent editions to a growing Design Products Collection catalogue in further themed editions.

Above: Resign and Cardboard Table by El Ultimo Grito

Head of the Department, Professor Tord Boontje and Senior Tutor, Gareth Williams, have personally selected the Design Products Collection. They have called it ‘First Hand’ because it gives buyers direct access to new design concepts, innovative craft-making and applications of technology.

Above: Radio 08 by Mikael Silvanto

The inaugural edition includes fourteen products by thirteen designers. The most familiar will be El Ultimo Grito, the design team of Roberto Feo and Rosario Hurtado who have contributed a table made of cardboard soaked in resin. Roberto has a long association with the RCA, having studied furniture design here and as a tutor in the Design Products department since 1999. Rosario joins the teaching team this autumn.

Above: In-betweening clock by Hye-Yeon Park

The other designers in the Collection have all graduated from the Design Products MA course since 2005 and demonstrate the truly international reach of the department. They include designers from Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, South Korea, Finland, Norway and Israel. Together their work demonstrates the diversity of conceptual approaches and technologies prevalent at the College.

Above: Box Light by Alon Meron

With a strong emphasis on furniture, the Collection also includes lighting, a clock, a radio, ceramics, jewellery and accessories to create a 3-d computer game avatar.

Above: Avatar Suit by Marc Owens

The Collection is being shown at international design events such as the launch at the 2010 London Design Festival and during the 2011 Milan Furniture Fair, to attract buyers from leading design retailers.

Above: Jungle Light by Eelko Moorer

The Design Products Collection brand has been designed and developed by thomas.matthews.com who have designed a catalogue, a website and the exhibition graphics.

Above: Sugar jewellery by Greetje van Helmond

Details of ‘First Hand’ the first edition of the Design Products Collection are as follows:

David Amar, Raymond table
Julian Bond, Pixel vases
Fabien Cappello, Happiness in Daily Life table and bench
El Ultimo Grito, Resin and cardboard table
Greetje van Helmond, Sugar jewellery
Alon Meron, Box light
Eelko Moorer, Jungle light
Oscar Narud, Keel stool/side table
Marc Owens, Avatar suit
Hye-Yeon Park, In-betweening clock
Will Shannon, Metro cabinet
Mikael Silvanto, Radio 08
Els Woldhek, Naturally False cabinet

See also:

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This year’s graduates	More design stories	More stories about London Design Festival 2010