Independent timber, panels and decors distributor James Latham once again sponsored Rycotewood School's annual furnituremaking competition, challenging 12 students to create innovative storage solutions using HIMACS, a premium solid surface material, and seeing them continue to push the boundaries of what cutting-edge solid surfaces can do.
A long-time champion of skills and material innovation in the UK furniture-making industry, James Latham returned as a sponsor for a third consecutive year, providing materials for participants to showcase their craft.
Twelve second-year degree students took part and were challenged to produce a piece of furniture, with an overarching theme of storage. Following a 10-week entry period, the judging took place ahead of the college’s end-of-year show on 24th June, where the winning and commended entries were announced.
Since James Latham first partnered with Rycotewood in 2022, HIMACS has proven one of the most popular products provided. It was the overwhelming favourite among this year’s entrants, and used across almost every piece entered.
While the choice of hero material was uniform, the variety of uses was impressive. The competition’s overall winner was Baxter Mansley-Leach, who designed and built a unique hallway storage unit using a wide variety of materials including rough-sawn European oak, woven willow, and steel rebar to create the frame and basket, with the crowning glory a Native American headdress-inspired feature in white HIMACS. Baxter manipulated the solid surface to give it a frayed and distressed appearance akin to weather-beaten leather or bone.
The judges were unanimous in their praise, singling out Baxter’s ambition, inventiveness and ability to create both a functional storage space and a striking artwork in one piece of furniture.
Another student, Charlie Martin, effectively demonstrated HIMACS' ability to be carved in the same way as natural timber, routing a tessellated inlay in HIMACS Diamond White within a contemporary side cabinet – while Alex Holden, used HIMACS San Remo, dovetail jointed to European oak, to achieve visual contrast for the drawer interiors of his multi-tiered jewellery box.
Exploring HIMACS’ ability to be twisted, turned, and even knotted, Lucas Davidson used thin lengths of HIMACS Black to create a wrought iron effect on the doors of his wall-mounted kitchen cabinet. Likewise, Matthew Suckling took thin straps of HIMACS Black to create a series of curved bars as a flourish to his own piece.
Commenting on the work, Josh Hudson, furniture lead at Rycotewood, says: “It’s been a privilege to watch how our students have taken to a non-traditional material like HIMACS, and the more familiar they’re becoming with it, the more ambitious they’ve become in their scope.
"Baxter’s piece is truly inspiring and shows an incredible depth of imagination, playfulness, and even rebelliousness in the final piece. He really pushed the envelope and should definitely give something for HIMACS head office to talk about!
"James Latham continues to be one of our most trusted and valued partners and we’re always grateful for its ongoing support, empowering students to realise their creative potential and ambitions.”
