Material Matters With Grant Gibson

Tom Dixon is one of the biggest names in design with ‘hubs’ in New York, Hong Kong SAR, China, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo.In this episode we sat down in his King’s Cross complex to discuss his days welding scrap metal into pieces of baroque furniture but we got into quite a lot more besides. There’s his appearance on Top of the Pops, for example. And the time when some furniture he’d produced for shoe designer Patrick Cox fell apart at a dinner party. We hear what London used to be like in the ’80s and why he might have been the bass player for Pink Floyd. He also talks about his decision to join Habitat, setting up with his eponymous brand, and the importance of food to his practice… as well as answering the biggest question of all: what exactly is the scent of Tom Dixon? You’ll have to listen to find out…To learn more about Tom go to: www.tomdixon.netSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/materialmatters?fan_landing=true)

Adam Nathaniel Furman is an artist and designer based in London. His work has been exhibited in Paris, New York, Milan, Rome, Eindhoven, Minneapolis, Portland, Kortrijk, Tel Aviv, Veszprem, Mumbai, Vienna and Glasgow as well as his home city, and is held in the collections of the Design Museum, Sir John Soane’s Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, the Abet Museum, and the Architectural Association. He has also played a fundamental role in the recent re-appraisal of post-modernist architecture and has become an advocate of the need for colour in our built environment. Importantly too, over the years he has built a huge following on social media through his witty, trenchant and occasionally downright controversial posts.This episode took the ‘critics’ slot’ in series two and covered issues such as: the Notre Dame blaze and the importance of heritage; queer aesthetics in architecture; reviving post-modernism’s reputation; the problem with unpaid internships... and his profound love of Nando’s. To describe it as w

Mourne Textiles is a rather brilliant hand-woven textile company based in Northern Ireland. It was founded by Gerd Hay-Edie after the Second World War and quickly went on to create pieces for the likes of Robin Day, Terence Conran, Liberty of London and fashion designer Sybil Connolly, becoming a staple of British modernism. After some difficult years, it has re-emerged from the doldrums and appears to be in fine fettle under the aegis of Gerd’s grandson Mario Sierra.In this episode Mario discusses how he grew up surrounded by hand-weaving in Northern Ireland; living through The Troubles; the legacy of his extraordinary grandmother; the joy of lumpy yarn; and how his family firm has re-emerged with the help of companies like fashion designer Margaret Howell and furniture manufacturer Pinch. Oh, and we have a quick natter about Brexit as well but don’t let that put you off. You can find out more about Mourne and Mario here: mournetextiles.com Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/materialmatters?fan_landin

Sculptor Laura Ellen Bacon weaves extraordinary structures out of willow. Her work has been shown in venues such as the Saatchi Gallery, Chatsworth, New Art Centre, Somerset House, Sudeley Castle (for Sotheby’s) and Blackwell – The Arts and Crafts House in Cumbria.Meanwhile, in 2017 she was a finalist of the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize at the V&A and was selected for Jerwood Contemporary Makers in 2010.In this episode she talks about growing up on a fruit farm in Derbyshire; her childhood obsession with building a two-storey tree house; her fear of failure; her interest in form rather than material; and why she has never woven a basket. We also discover how her work has inspired a new piece of orchestral music, written by Helen Grime and performed at the Barbican by the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Simon Rattle.You can find out more about Laura’s work here: lauraellenbacon.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/materialmatters?fan_landing=true)

Simone ten Hompel started her career as an apprentice blacksmith but has gone on to become one of the most influential metal artists in the world. Over the years she has had a major retrospective at the Ruthin Craft Centre and shown her work at fairs such as Collect at the Saatchi Gallery and What is Luxury? at London’s V&A. In an extraordinary interview she discusses: her ‘alternative’ East London studio; getting her first tool box at the age of six; her childhood in West Germany; her ability to ‘read’ the colour grey; the ‘taste’ of metal; her fascination with spoons; and why she isn’t all that keen on technology. Perhaps most importantly though we talk about her dyslexia – how she learned to cope at a school that didn’t really understand and why it has allowed her to see the world in a slightly different way. It’s wonderful, important stuff I reckon. To learn more about Simone’s work go to: tenhompel.com or you can check out her gallery here: galleryso.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/mater

James Shaw is an up-and-coming designer who has made a name for himself through his use of that most controversial of materials – plastic. Using a gun-like mini-extruder, he produces sausages of the material that he subsequently manipulates to create a huge variety of products – from candlesticks to tables. His work is an attempt to change its perception, to persuade people to treasure plastic, rather than using it once before burying it in the ground,During this episode we investigate our age of over-consumption and discuss the role of the designer as provocateur and activist. Not content with that, we also talk about how David Attenborough affected his career; why we should get rid of those green tops on our milk bottles; and discover the reasons behind him growing ‘plywood’ in a petri dish.  It’s fascinating, provocative stuff. You can learn more about James and his work here: jamesmichaelshaw.co.ukSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/materialmatters?fan_landing=true)

Kate Malone is one of Britain’s most important ceramicists, with pieces in the collections of Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Manchester Art Gallery and the V&A, to name just a few. She works in many different areas, from nature-inspired gallery pieces to batch production mugs via public art and architectural commissions – as she puts it rather wonderfully, her projects range in value from £25 to £1.5 million. In a discussion that can only be described as wide-ranging, we talk about her fascination with the natural world; how a near-deadly bout of meningitis changed her life for the better; her time as a TV judge on The Great Pottery Throwdown(clue: she was the one that didn’t burst into tears continually); and why exactly people used to mistake her for Simply Red’s Mick Hucknall. The thread through it all is her love of clay and the joy she evidently finds in communicating with it. You can find out more about Kate here: katemaloneceramics.com or go to her galleryist’s site here: adriansassoon.com. Supp

Bill Amberg was the first ever guest on the Material Matters podcast. The renowned leather designer is arguably best known for his bags but over the years he has increasingly worked on architectural projects with the likes of David Chipperfield at the RA and MUMA at Westminster Abbey.  He is a master of his craft and a really good bloke to boot. In this episode we talked about his upbringing in Northampton (did you know his mum used to work with Alvar Aalto?), learning his trade in Australia, forging a business in London during the ’80s, his love of architecture, and, most importantly, his life-long relationship with leather. Oh we also had a quick chat about how he ended up working on oil rigs in the North Sea. You can find out more about Bill and his extraordinary studio here: www.billamberg.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/materialmatters?fan_landing=true)

Peter Layton is one of the pioneers of the British studio glass movement. During our interview Peter recounts an extraordinary life that has included fleeing Eastern Europe from the Nazis and settling as an immigrant in Bradford, studying ceramics under the likes of Ruth Duckworth (and not Dickinson as your tongue-tied host accidentally said) at the Central School of Art and Design, meeting the wildly influential glass artist Harvey Littleton while he was teaching in the US, and burning himself badly the first time he ever tried to work with the material. Naturally enough he discusses his love of glass but, perhaps as importantly, how he has managed to keep his workshop and gallery London Glassblowing – employing 10 other makers – going successfully in the heart of a city intent on gentrification. It’s really quite inspiring. Incidentally did you know that Peter’s son, Bart, wrote and directed the absolutely brilliant heist movie American Animals, which was released in 2018? They are one of those annoyingly t

Celia Pym is an artist who has taken darning out of the domestic sphere and into galleries and museums. In this episode we chat about a career that has encompassed studying sculpture at Harvard via jobs in teaching and nursing – as well as a stint at the Royal College of Art – to being a finalist of the Woman’s Hour Craft Prize in 2018. One of the intriguing elements of Pym’s work is that she uses the process of darning and the objects that are brought to her to get to know people. As she told me in our discussion: ‘Early on I heard tons of stories about grief and I wasn’t sure if that was to do with me or the way I was asking the question… I realised it’s the damage that interested me sometimes more than the repair. I wondered if subconsciously I’d been communicating that. Instead of showing me a hole, I was saying show me the damage.’ Her story of how she started to repair her late great uncle’s jumper is genuinely emotional. You can find out more about Celia here: celiapym.comSupport the show (https://www.

Every now and again I break the format of the podcast and speak to a critic or someone who can provide an overview of the field. In series one I featured  the New York-based curator and commentator Glenn Adamson. The fact that he also had a new book out – entitled Fewer Better Things: The Hidden Wisdom of Objects – was an added bonus. I think it’s safe to say that we cover a fair amount of turf in our conversation: the relationship between academia and craft, the role of museums in our digital age, middle class consumption, and how his grandfather Arthur became a rocket scientist (I know what you’re thinking but he really did). The thread running through all this is the importance of what he describes as ‘material intelligence’. Incidentally did you know that Glenn can play the Irish pipes? No, me neither.You can find out more about Glenn and his work here: glennadamson.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon.com/materialmatters?fan_landing=true)

Eleanor Lakelin appeared on in the first series of Material Matters and is one of the UK’s leading woodturners, concentrating on making an array of vessels since 2011. As she explains: ‘I’m fascinated by wood as a living, breathing substance with its own history of growth and struggle centuries beyond our own. I’m particularly inspired by the organic mayhem and creative possibilities of burred wood. This proliferation of cells, formed over decades or even centuries as a reaction to stress or as a healing mechanism is a rare, mysterious and beautiful act of nature.’During our chat Eleanor tells me about her childhood growing up in North Wales, why she initially decided to take up teaching, her early career as a furniture maker, and how a visit to the Collect fair changed her life. Most importantly though we talked timber and her fascination with the material. Oddly we also managed to touch on dentistry too.To find out more about Eleanor and her work here: eleanorlakelin.comSupport the show (https://www.patreon

Edmund de Waal is that rarest of creatures, a potter who has broken out of the crafts world into the fine art market. He also happens to be a best-selling author of books such as The Hare with Amber Eyes and The White Road as well as a lucid and thoughtful speaker and curator. His work has been shown around the world in places such as the RA, Cambridge’s Fitzwilliam Museum, the V&A and the Ateneo Veneto in Venice. His first set design featured in the 2017/18 Season at the Royal Opera House for Yugen, a new ballet by choreographer Wayne McGregor.In this episode we talk about a childhood he has described as ‘odd’ (the Pope and Princess Diana both came around the house but not at the same time apparently), the relationship between making and writing, dealing with critics, and why some pots are ‘needy’. The thread running through it all is his love of the white stuff – in his case, porcelain.You can find out more about Edmund’s work here: edmunddewaal.com Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/materialmatt