Material Matters with Grant Gibson

Mark Hearld is an artist and designer who has a fascination with flora and fauna and has worked in a range of different media – including lithographic and linocut prints, painting, ceramics, textiles and tapestry. However, he is best known for his collage pieces. A graduate of Glasgow School of Art and the Royal College of Art, he has curated installations and exhibitions at York Art Gallery and Compton Verney and is an avid collector of objects. Over the years, he has been a huge advocate for the importance of mid-Twentieth century British artists such as Edward Bawden and Eric Ravillious and the role of craft in the fine art world. Another edition of Mark’s book, Raucous Invention – The Joy of Making, will be published by Thames and Hudson in 2025. In this episode we talk about: his fascination with paper; his need to be around other people when he works; collaborating with Edinburgh’s Dovecot Studios on a new series of tapestries; the process behind his collage work; the ‘mystery, poetry, joy and darkness’ of Hans Christian Andersen; why collage is like stepping onto a dance floor; writing a collage manifesto; how edges contain exuberance; having imposter syndrome at the Royal College of Art; and swimming against the art world’s tide for many years. Support the show

Todd Bracher is a US-based product designer who has worked with brands such as Humanscale, 3M, Herman Miller, Georg Jensen and Issey Miyake through his eponymous studio, winning a slew of awards along the way. More recently, he created another company, Betterlab, in which he collaborates with scientists and innovators to, in his words, ‘shape emerging research and foundational technologies into game-changing products’. The company has taken a particular interest in the potential of light, for medical and other, perhaps unexpected, uses. Todd’s latest project is a book. Design in Context, which is out now, illustrates how design – and design-led thinking – has the potential to change and shape every facet of business.In this episode we talk about: generating value for different clients; the importance of collaboration; why he launched Betterlab; how he’s using light to combat myopia; finding truth in design; how light becomes a material; learning to shape rather than style it; working with UVC and creating extraordinary products for health environments; leaving the US to study in Copenhagen; working in Milan; learning the ‘business of design’ under Tom Dixon; and designing net positive furniture for Humanscale. Support the show

Zena Holloway is a bio-designer and founder of Rootfull, which creates exquisite clothes, lights and sculptures from grass roots. She started her career as an underwater photographer, doing extraordinary high-end fashion shoots, as well as working with the likes of Kylie Minogue, Tom Daley, Katie Price and numerous other celebrities. At the same time, she was capturing the effects of pollution on the UK’s river beds. So how and why did her career shift so dramatically?In this episode Grant and Zena talk about: how she came to work with wheatgrass; early lessons with other materials; why her process is like a school experiment; how beeswax provided a Eureka! moment; ‘collaborating’ with her material; roots’ potential in industry; working with Kylie; giving up underwater photography and becoming a full-time bio-designer; creating new products with fashion designer Phoebe English; being fuelled by optimism; oh and stealing her son’s Lego. Support the show

Alkesh Parmar is a designer and researcher. Over the years, he has hollowed out champagne corks and turned them into chandeliers, as well as transforming traditional Indian terracotta cups into light fittings. But he is best known for his work with citrus peel in general – and orange peel in particular.Using a material generally thought of as waste, he has created a variety of extraordinary products including a juicer (for obvious reasons) and a lampshade. His practice combines craft with critical design and, it’s fair to say, he was a relatively early adopter in the design industry of working with local materials and questioning the effects of globalisation.When he’s not working with waste, he is also a teacher at the Royal College of Art. Alkesh was one of the stars of the Material Matters fair when it launched in 2022 and he’s returning to Bargehouse when the doors open for the 2024 edition, which runs from 18-21 September. In this episode we talk about: why he’s researching the history of oranges for the Material Matters fair; the properties of orange peel and how it can behave like leather; how he sources his material of choice; the importance of failure to his practice; not wanting to run a large company; coming from a family of shoemakers; and his relationship with light. The Material Matters fair is free for trade but you must register in advance here: https://registration.iceni-es.com/material-matters/reg-start.aspxSupport the show