As our feature on the Out of Print project hinted at yesterday, getting your hands dirty was a theme that ran through a lot of what we saw at this year’s London Design Festival. Handicraft, as you’ll know, has been enjoying somewhat of a resurgence for many years now – hell, just look at the success of Etsy for proof of that – but the use of hand-driven craft as a means of commenting on modern culture is something that unites both Out of Print and this; Martijn Rigters‘ Foam Party.
Occupying a prime spot at this year’s Tent, young Dutch designer Rigters chose a hand-crafted take on mass production to express his unhappiness with the latter; in particular its lack of identity and charm. Developing a flexible molding technique to create made-to-measure (quite literally) foam seats, the designer turns your backside into a custom-moulded chair in just 15 minutes; fashioning chairs that most definitely don’t lack identity and charm.
Dissecting and reinterpreting techniques, crafts and traditions – Martijn Rigters is just one of the many talented young designers who are not afraid to, erm, break the mould.
Installation images © We Heart
Chair images © Martijn Rigters
