I love the pieces of furniture that seem borrowed from the landscape around us: a table that keeps the wooden natural look, a pillow that has green leaves printed on it or a lamp that uses a tree trunk for its leg. Architect and designer Charlie Whinney knows better than us how to incorporate fragments from the nature into sophisticated, stylish and eco- friendly objects and I invite you to enjoy the gallery below! You’ll discover lamps with very dynamic forms that work in a magical way as a light and they are also beautiful and very different from every angle.
Charlie Whinney studied Architecture at Kingston University , Furniture Design at Rycotewood, and 3D Design for Sustainability at Falmouth College of Arts. He also worked as an apprentice artistic blacksmith with Jos Whinney (1998-1999), and as a production assistant for Inflate Design (2002-2005). Charlie Whinney divides his time between that of a designer-maker as well as providing creative consulting services to a range of public and private clients, and running design workshops at several UK universities. Charlie Whinney Design Workshop explores the relationships between materials, people and the environment – and sometimes find where beauty and usefulness meet. They undertake a wide range of projects that blur the boundaries between fine art, architecture and design, and projects often involve making as well as design and idea generation.
Finely tuned to create a stylish profile that looks good from every angle, this piece playfully filters out light through the gaps between the solid wood. Made from a single piece of Ash, it is split and steam-bent into a knot before assembly.
Charlie Whinney used Ash ‘re-growth’ coppice that proliferates in the woodlands surrounding his workshop. He steam-bend the coils to make the most eco-friendly and dynamic CurlyShade yet.
The pendant shade is stunning and intriguing in profile as a form suspended in space.
It is made from a single piece of wood and is one of the most difficult forms to achieve as it is so technically demanding in its execution. This one-off sculpture represents my newest foray into pure sculptural forms, shown here at its best.
