Re-create Solid Floor
Bridge Bench
Ella Doran has collaborated with Blake Carlson Joshua for the London Design Festival 2023.
After meeting at the inaugural Material Matters show in 2022 where they were both exhibiting, they bonded over their unconventional use of "waste", giving new life to materials often left discarded. And they made a plan to collaborate…
...a year on and that plan has come together through the co-creation of two benches, one that will be showcased on the South of the river and the other on the North East.
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SOUTH of the river Thames
Material Matters 2023 Bridge Bench Multi Colour - dimensions L 1860mm W 550mm H 460mm Salvaged Iroko wood, waste paint, paper, gypsum.
Here, Ella extends the legacy of her waste paint from her Paint Drop project, only this time, as the duo had decided to work on a bench, the horizontal nature of the piece led Ella to choose for the paint to be dropped and poured from both sides of the reclaimed Iroko; thus balancing the convergence of this uplifting waste paint colour palette, with the hand crafted paper stones at either end.
Blake Carlson Joshua can be found on the 4th floor of the Material Matters show, the bench will be showcased alongside his new products at the event.
NORTH EAST of the river Thames
Bridge Bench Nude - dimensions L 1860mm W 550mm H 460mm Solid floor wood boards, plywood, salvaged brass, paper (including shredded paperwork from Solid Floors office) gypsum.
Here, Ella chose to leave the Solid Floor wood boards with their original painted white and burnt finish, and rather than removing the groove of the second plank, she serendipitously filled it with a salvaged piece of brass that fitted like a glove. The paper stones have been moulded around salvaged fence posts and made by Blake using Solid Floors office paper.
Re-create is an exhibition of objects created from Solid Floor timbers by local designers. Solid Floor has been supplying and installing bespoke timber flooring for over twenty-five years. Acclaimed in equal measure for the variety and distinctiveness of its floors, Solid Floor is frequently specified by many of the UK’s leading architects and designers.
The exhibition’s objective is to make use of waste flooring material that would otherwise be thrown away, via new-designed objects that not only showcase the beauty of the different timber floors with their various textures and colours but also reveal the ingenuity of the designers themselves.
ABOUT the designers:
B.C. Joshua is a London based (Minneapolis born) designer and a maker exploring the material landscape in a hands on way. His work aims to interrogate and question pre-conceived narratives using a material-based approach to the creation of objects. Frequently his work considers the resources around us challenging the notion of ‘waste’ by changing its context entirely. Blake graduated from the Royal College of Art where he received his MA Design Products postgraduate degree. Born in Minneapolis USA, Blake now resides in London following his MA in Design Product from the Royal College of Art. Materiality and pre-conceived narratives form the basis of his small batch furniture collections, which has led him to be a recent runner-up for the prestigious Deutsche Bank Award for Creative Excellence. Blake is currently working with a number of A&D firms to develop his collections for commercial and private use.
Ella Doran is a designer, textile mark-maker, photographer and teacher, who is currently an Associate Lecturer on the Interior Design MA Course at the Royal College of Art in London.
With sensitivity to the complex relations between cause and effect in product design, and the wellbeing of our planetary limits Ella seeks projects that draw on innovative technologies and materials to help push the industry towards a carbon conscious economy.
In the late 90s, she was one of the forerunners of the creative application of digitally printed photographic designs onto everyday products. Clients have ranged from Conran and Heals to Absolut Vodka and Paloma Picasso, with licensed products created for Portmeirion Potteries, John Lewis, Habitat & The Art Group. She has produced award-winning collections for TATE, The Glasgow School of Art and The Southbank Centre, whilst her own brand focuses on commissions and made-to-order products for walls windows and floors.
In 2012, NHS charity VitalArts, commissioned her to design textiles and furniture for the paediatric wards at the Royal London hospital in Whitechapel. She has since gone on to work on several interior art-based projects for Cancer and Radiology departments at the Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and is currently working on an art and design project for the Bereavement wing there.
Ella’s solo show and documentary on material circularity and transparency, ‘Sheep to Seat, Fleece to Floor’ was held at Yorkshire Sculpture Park in summer 2019.