Selvedge at London Design Festival
I found an edge I wasn’t expecting when I met the makers behind Forest + Found. A deep understanding of living in their East London community coexists alongside foraging excursions in nearby Epping Forest. They and their wares illustrate a truly fresh duality between urban and rural living.
Abigail Booth and Max Bainbridge met at Chelsea College of Art where they shared studio space on their fine art degree. After three years creating sculpture and photography, they have transferred their productivity to the depths of Walthamstow, where they have built a studio in an accommodating garden.
For them, nearby is steeped in a craft history with The William Morris Gallery around the corner and several factory buildings which once housed leather and toy making, to name a few. There is a philosophical thread underpinning everything Forest + Found do; both Bainbridge and Booth are keen to explore objects through thinking, dialogue and making. They prefer a self-taught approach, picking up the skills they need when they are required. For now, Booth has focused on quilting and Bainbridge on woodworking.
Join Polly Leonard, Founder of Selvedge, in conversation with indigo designer and artist Katherine May, woodworker Max Bainbridge and quilt maker Abigail Booth of Forest + Found, as well as hand weaver Amy Revier. Polly will discuss how their work relates to the urban environment and why they find it important to work within the context of the city.
Country in the City - Book now.
20 September, 11am-12pm, Makers Day
Victoria & Albert Museum
www.londondesignfestival.com
This blog post is in part an edited extract from Ptolemy Mann's article in the Green issue of Selvedge.
Forest + Found