James Green’s most recent work, the i4WR1 table, is made from a combination of oak and concrete. As well as featuring in The Nottingham Post, i4WR1 was recently on display at interior design store Mint’s stand at the Brompton Design District, as part of London Design Festival.
“I chose concrete as I had never used it before for making furniture," says James. "I had to enlist the expertise of local concrete specialist Michael Thorp and his company Warrington & Rose to help me create the concrete components. The various mould parts created to cast the concrete itself pushed both mine and Michael’s boundaries as makers, and I am quite certain that there is nothing quite like this piece on the market.
“i4WR1 is the first piece in a proposed range of concrete and hardwood products. i4WR2 is in the early stages of design at present – this is a concrete and timber bedside table. The shape of i4WR1 was governed by learning that some people don’t have coffee tables due to them being another surface in the home to use as a dumping ground – hence the central key dish.”
"As well as the concrete version, I am also proposing to make another variation of the piece by replacing the concrete shell with Corian. Hopefully this will be made ready for the show, but I’m currently redesigning the part as it is totally different using Corian. Dupont have been amazing, helping me along the way by giving me specialist advice and a better understanding of how best to use Corian. The dimensions of the design were decided upon with smaller spaces in mind, but I have been asked to design a larger option for specific clients.”
“Design should be fun – the day it becomes a chore is a sad day”
Training: As well as earning City & Guilds qualifications in making and installing furniture and wood machining, James studied Furniture & Product Design at Nottingham Trent University for four years from 2010, but has nearly a decade of experience in the industry as a furniture maker, wood machinist and now, designer.
Achievements: Upon leaving college, James was awarded a gold medal for excellence from the City & Guilds group, the Joiners and Ceilers Craft Award and student of the year award. These three awards carried James along his journey to university, where he could confidently start to become a designer. He now plans to concentrate on building his new brand, i4 Design, into a successful furniture design business.
This article was published in the October issue of Furniture News magazine.
