Well, last week I promised you design-excitement of pretty epic proportions, so I’d better deliver hadn’t I?! I thought I’d start with the designers of the very chair I mentioned in my introduction. &Then were without doubt my favourite find of this year’s London Design Festival – and lovely boys to boot!
&Then was founded three years ago after Sam Wright and Jaime Bouler met at University. They lived together and discovered they shared the same work ethic and both wanted to enjoy the process of designing products.
They also shared a commitment to supporting British design and manufacturing, and now produce all of their products in the UK. “The British design and manufacturing scene has such talent and heritage. Products manufactured here are of the best quality and we want to support this – it can’t be an industry that dies” Sam told me.
They describe their style as eccentric, playful, colourful and contemporary – and I couldn’t agree more. There is something very special about it that just tugs at your heartstrings.
But more than that, there’s something pretty special about two lads who, just three years into their careers, are already encouraging and promoting the talent that follows them, through their &Then Shop initiative. “People helped us by giving their time, so we hope to repay the favour to the design scene.”
What an inspiring pair.
Katie Treggiden is the author of award-winning design blog, confessions of a design geek, and new design book, Interviews.
