When we stopped by KOIBIRD, the dreamy concept store at 62 Marylebone Lane, London, earlier this year, it truly felt like a step into another world. As of today, the walls shimmer in shades of lilac, pink and acid green Then Tiled floors, a whimsical selection of clothing, accessories and collectibles, and space-age inspired decor won't be the only elements that allow the store to transport you to a dimension all its own.
In his just-released home collection for KOIBIRD, London-based emerging designer and maker James Shaw aims to redeem plastic, one of the most polluting materials of our century, and transform it into a range of functional objects, including a lamp, candle holders, a candelabra, two mirrors, a set of bookends, a planter, a pepper and salt mill and a Kitchen roll holders that are as colorful and quirky as they are fun.
In doing so, the RCA Design Products graduate is not simply giving it a new life. He also finds his way to “unleash a playful, exuberant and idiosyncratic side of something” that would otherwise have been lost, proving that even when we think things have lost their value and it's time to move on, there can still be something they – we – can do (with them).
Known for his squishy, icing-like designs made from materials such as walnut, polished aluminum and mirror, as well as discarded goods such as reclaimed wood, bio-resin, denim and corduroy, and of course his structural experiments with recycled papier-mâché, tin and plastic, Shaw has exhibited around the world.
Some of his pieces, including sustainably engineered armchairs, creature-like wooden furniture and mysterious molten sculptures, have taken over The Conran Shop in Sloane Square The blob viewing rooman installation that is just coming to an end. His work is in the permanent collections of MoMA, the V&A, the Montreal Museum of Art, the Design Museum Ghent and the Museum of London, to name a few.
How did the designer first get involved? “I've always been interested in discarded materials,” Shaw tells me, adding that his “first-ever furniture collection was created by 'combing' the streets for broken and discarded pieces of furniture and then reassembling them into new items.”
“Normally, processing plastic requires huge factories. What I bring is a more human approach, where each object is handmade and essentially unique.” –James Shaw
(Image credit: James Shaw)
It was his final project in college that allowed him to look at things differently. To do this, “I built a machine – an extrusion gun – and had to find a material to put into it in the reverse order of how things normally work,” he explains.
Around the same time, Shaw had contacted a plastics recycling plant, which, he recalls, alerted him to “how much of this material there is and how poorly it is typically treated.” Site visits formed the basis for shaping the vision behind what he does.
“The main intention of this work is to create entertaining, desirable objects from a problematic material that people will use and keep for a long time,” says Shaw, describing his core goal. “Normally, processing plastic requires huge factories. What I bring is a more human approach, where each object is handmade and essentially unique.”
“I built a machine – an extrusion gun – and in reverse of how things normally work, I had to find a material to put into it,” Shaw says of his machine flash for recycled plastic.
(Image credit: Courtesy of James Shaw and KOIBIRD)
His collection for KOIBIRD, which launches today and will be available in-store for a limited time, is emblematic of this approach. The sense of vibrancy, experimental understanding of craft and continuous search for joy that Shaw believes defines ambience and curation is what drew Shaw to the London concept store after he was introduced to it by Uchronia, the studio that designed it.
The items he envisioned for his collaboration with the store, which Shereen Basma, KOIBIRD's chief product officer, describes as “unique” while “preserving the brand's DNA,” particularly through their bold colors and irreverent shapes, push the boundaries of craftsmanship by moving the dismantling and reinvention of plastics from large industrial sites to Shaw's own studio.
The result is a series of unique collectibles, imbued with the nostalgia that arises from our memories of building with clay, and clearly characterized by their organic, generous shapes, bringing a feeling of softness and comfort to the home.
“We make pretty much everything ourselves in our workshop in London, which means every element of the manufacturing has to be thought through because we are going to make it,” explains the designer. “I am fascinated by manufacturing in all variations and materials, and each model from our KOIBIRD collection expresses how it was shaped and tries to combine this with the way it is used and its appearance.”
But how does the regeneration of plastic, the main source of this new line, actually work? “There are several machines I have to work with. The main one is a homemade 'extruder' that melts the material and extrudes it as a hot, malleable material that we then shape by hand,” says Shaw. “We also have a mill, which means we can take things like milk bottles and then grind them back up into a material that we can feed to the extruder. Additionally, we can grind up and reuse any tests or prototypes that don't meet the requirements.”
He makes it sound easy, but the designer admits that building the machine was a real trial and error process. “We're now on the fifth iteration, the first ones were really based on things I had at my disposal – using a drill as a motor and heaters borrowed from something else. For the current extruder I worked with a few different engineers and that's a beautiful thing in itself.”
With the KOIBIRD drop, Shaw breaks even more new ground than his usual calming pastels with bold reds and neons, which the creative admits he really loves.
“I'm very interested in everyday objects that can bring us small moments of joy. Rituals like lighting a candle or cooking a meal are the moments that make up the structure of life, and these are the ones I want to work with,” he shares. One thing is certain: his KOIBIRD home line will not go unnoticed.
Discover the entire collection in store at KOIBIRD.
Want green furniture? Discover how Somerset-based company Somer creates circular furniture that is transformed into a new home once let go. Or visit our design exhibition directory for more sculptural inspiration.