Six designers, who in September will be projected into the public eye on the BBC2 reality show Philippe Starck “Design for Life” are to exhibit as a collective at 100% Futures to coincide with the launch of the TV program.
The idea to reveal the work of the contestants at 100% Futures was to give the viewing public a deeper insight into the work of each of the individual designers, an idea instigated by 28 year old product designer and 3D creative consultant Ilsa Parry
Ilsa says:
“I thoroughly enjoyed the “Starck” experience and gained deep insight into the commercial world of design. I got on well with all of the other exhibitors at 100% Futures, building strong relationships and mutual beliefs about the future of the design industry. I was excited at the prospect of having made friends who shared my passion and vision and thought it would be a perfect opportunity to exhibit together to bring our creativity to market and to freely exhibit what we personally believe to be innovative solutions to existing problems as individuals without the agenda of the TV producers and the Starck team to overshadow our imagination.”
Ilsa is a multidisciplinary designer with her own product design agency “REthinkthings” and is also a design educator and 3D creative consultant. Ilsa Launches four new products at 100% design, Kaspa the glow in the dark kids nightlight, Flo the standing and walking aid and Spyke and Pippa the outdoor drinking vessels with a difference. Three of Ilsas products (Kaspa, Pippa and Spyke) are production ready and are now seeking either investment to bring them to the mass market independently under the “REthinkthings” brand or potential manufacturing licensees so that the products may become more accessible and affordable for the everyday consumer. Currently these products are not available for sale and are brand new to the
market.
Ilsa owns the registered design rights to all 4 products and has “patent pending” for the US and UK on the Flo product. Ilsa is working in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University to develop the Flo product and is seeking investment to pay for further development and testing by way of working prototype production and academic research to assist with the ergonomic development of the design. Ilsa is interested in hearing from companies who specialise in childrens homewares for Kaspa, medical products for Flo and lifestyle products for Pippa and Spyke.
In other news, she has most recently been commissioned by Mc Donalds ltd to submit concept designs for new feature lighting in the European flagship stores and Kirsty Doyle (fashion designer and winner of project catwalk 2006) to create a feature seat for her new boutique.
Ilsa exhibits with fellow contestants
Mike Cloke, Trevor Brinkman, Helen Bickford, Ana Maria Pasescu and Robert Richardson
Mike Cloke was born in Kent, and has recently graduated from the University of Brighton
“I?m a product designer who focuses on the idea of re-use and re-appropriation.”
Mike is presently living and working in London, working freelance. His current project involves working on various projects including branding and visual identity. He has also recently been given the task to re-design the showroom for the offices of Milton-Lloyd fragrances. This year Mike has most notably had a product featured at Innovation Nation at the ideal homes show and also has had a product featured in the D & AD Student Awards annual following last years exhibition at new designers. At 100% Futures he is looking to test the market reaction to a product which he has never shown commercially before, he wants to target possible manufacturers to get this product into production and is also interested to hear from retail buyers interested in stocking small quantities.
Ana-Maria is an experimental designer, always trying to make something out of nothing. She has a passion for making intricate and bizarre but beautiful objects.
“Manipulating simple materials is something I can?t get enough off, I am the sort of person who obsesses over form, shape and beauty. I am intrigued by seeing something of a simple nature transform in my hands, its captivating”
Ana is currently working for Tom Dixon following the Starck experience. At 100% Futures she is exhibiting Hang man noose which is a light constructed from rope surrounding cable wire. The cable itself is then manipulated around the light bulb to create different surrounds such as the noose. Ana also exhibits her Rope jewellery, recently featured in Grazia magazine, it is made from a mixture of different textured cotton and leather ropes and is knotted to create beautiful pendants. The jewellery is finished with gold/silver plated brass clasps and is available to order. Ana states:
“From the Futures show I am looking for possible collaborations, commissions and buyers for both my lighting and jewellery.”
Trevor Brinkman has already made giant leaps in his design career and following filming in Paris he is now working at the extremely successful design consultancy NPK Design in the Netherlands.
“It was such an amazing feeling when I first got positive reviews for my work, I?ve only been designing for about a year so to achieve this amount of success is really overwhelming. I?m hoping to use 100% Design to showcase my skills and develop contacts for the future. I also want to gauge interest for MoveMe which I am currently in the process of developing further.”
Trevor will be starting his second year at Bournemouth University in the Autumn and is hoping to continue the success he has had up until now. Although he has not identified any one particular area of design to focus on ethics, sustainability and functionality are the driving considerations when he designs.
Helen Bickford is a new graduate from the University of Lincoln. She has recently made the big move to London hoping to launch her design career after gaining new insights whilst in Paris. Helen will exhibit the Night watchman chair as featured on the show.
“The seat is a play on the classic Windsor chair, with a heavy focus on the reuse of old chairs. With a sideways rocking action it acts as a way of keeping you awake, ideal for security guards on night watch or students wanting to revise all night.”
Helen is currently looking for design work or any job where she can be creative, Helen hopes to gain some interest in her work from potential buyers at 100% Futures and is also interested in talking to design consultancies , who may be looking for a new addition to their team.
Robert Richardson (also newly graduated in Furniture Design & Related Products) is currently working on 2D and 3D CAD as a Digital Mapping Analyst in Leicester. While also doing freelance work on behalf of ARDesign. Robert says:
“I am now seeking a more hands on design related position within the areas of Furniture, Product or Interior Design.”
His passion relates to designing sustainable products following his interests in eco design. He concentrates on combining the issues of function and form, while considering the overall impact of his products on the environment. Robert wants to create interest from manufacturing companies by exhibiting his outdoor seating that stays dry after a rainfall.
“Ideally I would like to work with a company to develop my design and bring it to manufacture, although I would consider licensing the rights.”
Following filming for the show all 6 of Starcks students have gained new insights into commercial design. In some cases this has changed their perception of the industry they work in and in other cases the experience has only strengthened their own personal beliefs…
Ilsa says:
“ Working With Starck and Quitlett assisted me by helping me to realise the importance of commercial value in the success of a product. My focus as a designer has always been on innovation and experimentation, and my work is about getting people to question things, recognising products for what they are and what they are not… assisting people to build relationships with the products they own and use and encouraging people to be more discerning as consumers and to make product choices based on an understanding of the inner product value(s) and how these could potentially affect their own progress in life and the progress of others.”
Ilsa was shocked to realise how closely her concepts and belief system lay to Starcks whilst filming, as their personal journeys and product outcomes are so different. Ilsa, having only worked on one off commissions and bringing product ideas to just prototype stage in the past found the dichotomy between design worth and the business actuality of realising products for commerce very difficult to balance. Ilsa still struggles to justify all of her work fully as essentially she believes that design should be humanistic and socially responsible and often the harshness of commerce can retract from these values and therefore contradict the essence of the original product idea.
Robert Richardson echos Ilsas comments as he explains:
“The Starck experience has mainly taught me two things: The first is that being a successful designer is not just about designing great products, it?s also about being able to market the products well. The whole experience in Paris made me realize that I don?t want to be a „star? designer similar to Starck, I want to be a known eco and sustainable designer. The second is that I needed to improve and gain confidence when presenting myself and my work. After presenting face to face with Philippe Starck while being in front of cameras, I now feel more confident and positive in other stressful situations”
For Trevor, the Starck experience has had quite an impact on his thinking, he says:
“Design for Life” challenged me to open my own horizons and think beyond the textbook processes and techniques of design. Combining the experiences of everyday life to design, producing products that are functional. Above all it produced the germ of an idea, to strive to be a catalyst for change.”
The lessons from Design for Life will prove to be invaluable for the next stage of Trevor?s design career. Designing under pressure and from a self initiated stand point was a new experience for him and proved to be a challenge initially, but as time passed he felt that the way that he thought and consequently designed changed for the better due to these pressures. Trevor concludes:
“The experience in Paris was always meant to be an opportunity to look into the world of design. I had no illusions that I was going in to it with little experience. At each stage I thought myself extremely fortunate to get that far especially when up against such talented other designers. I want to build on the time in Paris by finding future opportunities for work and projects whilst I am still studying and beyond.”
Helen feels that she too learnt a lot from the overall experience and the other contestants.
“I learnt about sustainable design and how to brand and market products. I also gained a lot of confidence in my abilities and myself.”
Anas memory of the time spent in Paris focussed very much on the relationships she formed there: “I really enjoyed the experience overall, I met some fantastic people which I learned a lot from, there were tears, confusion, conflict, anger, achievement, and it was great in our bubble of creativity. I mainly learned that Stark is the same as anyone no matter his status! Confusing, intelligent and so amusing.”
Mike felt that the experience aided him to see the bigger picture for the progression of his career, he simply concludes:
“Design must function to be fully justifiable, not just be conceptually sound.”
Evidently the resounding message from 6 of Starck students is that there are currently huge gaps in the skills and education sector for the design industry. This is an issue which Ilsa has always pledged she would try to tackle in the future. Currently course leader for the 3D design course at Liverpool Community College Ilsa has worked in design education for 6 years. Her personal struggle to bring innovative ideas to market has inspired her to work towards the eventual set up of a social enterprise consisting of an innovation centre based in the North West, for would be designers in order to bridge the gap between the current limitations of design education and the commercial skills needed to bring good design to market.
The entire collective of 6 have moved forward both personally and professionally as a result of filming the TV show, they are now excited to launch their future careers and impact positively on the lives of others through the products they create…
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Individual CVs and high resolution JPEG images of the work produced by the 6 exhibitors from Design for Life is available upon email request from the contact information below.
Contact information
Ilsa Parry
RE:thinkthings
Studio 1, Ward St, Liverpool, L3 5XX
www.rethinkthings.co.uk
www.ilsaparry.com
ilsaparry@rethinkthings.co.uk
+44 (0)7974186677
Michael Cloke
22 Pinewood Avenue, Sevenoaks, KENT, TN14 5AF
www.michaelcloke.co.uk
clokie86@hotmail.com
+44 (0)7828052770
Ana-Maria Pasescu Stewart 20 Marlin Close, Berkhamsted, Herts, HP43JX www.anamariadesign.com ilikerope@hotmail.com +44 (0)7932 866 033
Trevor Brinkman
Distelkade 11n, Amsterdam, 1031XP, Holland
www.trevorbrinkman.com
trevor@trevorbrinkman.com
+44 (0)77887120741 / +31 (0)616151326 Helen Bickford 111b Downs Road, Hackney, London E5 8DA helenbickford@hotmail.com +44 (0)7957727552
Robert Richardson
22 Skye Way, Countesthorpe, Leicester, LE8 5TY
www.robrichdesign.co.uk
Robert@robrichdesign.co.uk
+44 (0)7799 158114
Six designers, from the BBC2 reality show Philippe Starck “Design for Life” are to exhibit as a collective at 100% Futures to coincide with the launch of the TV program.
The idea to reveal the work of the contestants at 100% Futures was to give the viewing public a deeper insight into the work of each of the individual designers, an idea instigated by 28 year old product designer and 3D creative consultant Ilsa Parry
Ilsa says:
“I thoroughly enjoyed the “Starck” experience and gained deep insight into the commercial world of design. I got on well with all of the other exhibitors at 100% Futures, building strong relationships and mutual beliefs about the future of the design industry. I was excited at the prospect of having made friends who shared my passion and vision and thought it would be a perfect opportunity to exhibit together to bring our creativity to market and to freely exhibit what we personally believe to be innovative solutions to existing problems as individuals without the agenda of the TV producers and the Starck team to overshadow our imagination.”
Ilsa Launches four new products at 100% design, Kaspa the glow in the dark kids nightlight, Flo the standing and walking aid and Spyke and Pippa the outdoor drinking vessels with a difference. Three of Ilsas products (Kaspa, Pippa and Spyke) are production ready and are now seeking either investment to bring them to the mass market independently under the “REthinkthings” brand or potential manufacturing licensees so that the products may become more accessible and affordable for the everyday consumer. Currently these products are not available for sale and are brand new to the market.
Ilsa is working in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University to develop the Flo product.
Ilsa exhibits with fellow contestants Mike Cloke, Trevor Brinkman, Helen Bickford, Ana Maria Pasescu and Robert Richardson
Mike Cloke was born in Kent, and has recently graduated from the University of Brighton
“I?m a product designer who focuses on the idea of re-use and re-appropriation.”
Mike is presently living and working in London, working freelance. His current project involves working on various projects including branding and visual identity. He has also recently been given the task to re-design the showroom for the offices of Milton-Lloyd fragrances. This year Mike has most notably had a product featured at Innovation Nation at the ideal homes show and also has had a product featured in the D & AD Student Awards annual following last years exhibition at new designers. At 100% Futures he is looking to test the market reaction to a product which he has never shown commercially before, he wants to target possible manufacturers to get this product into production and is also interested to hear from retail buyers interested in stocking small quantities.
Ana-Maria is an experimental designer, always trying to make something out of nothing. She has a passion for making intricate and bizarre but beautiful objects.
“Manipulating simple materials is something I can?t get enough off, I am the sort of person who obsesses over form, shape and beauty. I am intrigued by seeing something of a simple nature transform in my hands, its captivating”
Ana is currently working for Tom Dixon following the Starck experience. At 100% Futures she is exhibiting Hang man noose which is a light constructed from rope surrounding cable wire. The cable itself is then manipulated around the light bulb to create different surrounds such as the noose. Ana also exhibits her Rope jewellery, recently featured in Grazia magazine, it is made from a mixture of different textured cotton and leather ropes and is knotted to create beautiful pendants. The jewellery is finished with gold/silver plated brass clasps and is available to order. Ana states:
“From the Futures show I am looking for possible collaborations, commissions and buyers for both my lighting and jewellery.”
Trevor Brinkman has already made giant leaps in his design career and following filming in Paris he is now working at the extremely successful design consultancy NPK Design in the Netherlands.
“It was such an amazing feeling when I first got positive reviews for my work, I?ve only been designing for about a year so to achieve this amount of success is really overwhelming. I?m hoping to use 100% Design to showcase my skills and develop contacts for the future. I also want to gauge interest for MoveMe which I am currently in the process of developing further.”
Trevor will be starting his second year at Bournemouth University in the Autumn and is hoping to continue the success he has had up until now. Although he has not identified any one particular area of design to focus on ethics, sustainability and functionality are the driving considerations when he designs.
Helen Bickford is a new graduate from the University of Lincoln. She has recently made the big move to London hoping to launch her design career after gaining new insights whilst in Paris. Helen will exhibit the Night watchman chair as featured on the show.
“The seat is a play on the classic Windsor chair, with a heavy focus on the reuse of old chairs. With a sideways rocking action it acts as a way of keeping you awake, ideal for security guards on night watch or students wanting to revise all night.”
Helen is currently looking for design work or any job where she can be creative, Helen hopes to gain some interest in her work from potential buyers at 100% Futures and is also interested in talking to design consultancies , who may be looking for a new addition to their team.
Robert Richardson (also newly graduated in Furniture Design & Related Products) is currently working on 2D and 3D CAD as a Digital Mapping Analyst in Leicester. While also doing freelance work on behalf of ARDesign. Robert says:
“I am now seeking a more hands on design related position within the areas of Furniture, Product or Interior Design.”
His passion relates to designing sustainable products following his interests in eco design. He concentrates on combining the issues of function and form, while considering the overall impact of his products on the environment. Robert wants to create interest from manufacturing companies by exhibiting his outdoor seating that stays dry after a rainfall.
“Ideally I would like to work with a company to develop my design and bring it to manufacture, although I would consider licensing the rights.”
Following filming for the show all 6 of Starcks students have gained new insights into commercial design. In some cases this has changed their perception of the industry they work in and in other cases the experience has only strengthened their own personal beliefs…
Ilsa says:
“ Working With Starck and Quitlett assisted me by helping me to realise the importance of commercial value in the success of a product. My focus as a designer has always been on innovation and experimentation, and my work is about getting people to question things, recognising products for what they are and what they are not… assisting people to build relationships with the products they own and use and encouraging people to be more discerning as consumers and to make product choices based on an understanding of the inner product value(s) and how these could potentially affect their own progress in life and the progress of others.”
Robert Richardson echos Ilsas comments as he explains:
“The Starck experience has mainly taught me two things: The first is that being a successful designer is not just about designing great products, it?s also about being able to market the products well. The whole experience in Paris made me realize that I don?t want to be a „star? designer similar to Starck, I want to be a known eco and sustainable designer. The second is that I needed to improve and gain confidence when presenting myself and my work. After presenting face to face with Philippe Starck while being in front of cameras, I now feel more confident and positive in other stressful situations”
For Trevor, the Starck experience has had quite an impact on his thinking, he says:
“Design for Life” challenged me to open my own horizons and think beyond the textbook processes and techniques of design. Combining the experiences of everyday life to design, producing products that are functional. Above all it produced the germ of an idea, to strive to be a catalyst for change.”
The lessons from Design for Life will prove to be invaluable for the next stage of Trevor?s design career. Designing under pressure and from a self initiated stand point was a new experience for him and proved to be a challenge initially, but as time passed he felt that the way that he thought and consequently designed changed for the better due to these pressures. Trevor concludes:
“The experience in Paris was always meant to be an opportunity to look into the world of design. I had no illusions that I was going in to it with little experience. At each stage I thought myself extremely fortunate to get that far especially when up against such talented other designers. I want to build on the time in Paris by finding future opportunities for work and projects whilst I am still studying and beyond.”
Helen feels that she too learnt a lot from the overall experience and the other contestants.
“I learnt about sustainable design and how to brand and market products. I also gained a lot of confidence in my abilities and myself.”
Anas memory of the time spent in Paris focussed very much on the relationships she formed there: “I really enjoyed the experience overall, I met some fantastic people which I learned a lot from, there were tears, confusion, conflict, anger, achievement, and it was great in our bubble of creativity. I mainly learned that Stark is the same as anyone no matter his status! Confusing, intelligent and so amusing.”
Mike felt that the experience aided him to see the bigger picture for the progression of his career, he simply concludes:
“Design must function to be fully justifiable, not just be conceptually sound.”
Evidently the resounding message from 6 of Starck students is that there are currently huge gaps in the skills and education sector for the design industry. This is an issue which Ilsa has always pledged she would try to tackle in the future. Currently course leader for the 3D design course at Liverpool Community College Ilsa has worked in design education for 6 years. Her personal struggle to bring innovative ideas to market has inspired her to work towards the eventual set up of a social enterprise consisting of an innovation centre based in the North West, for would be designers in order to bridge the gap between the current limitations of design education and the commercial skills needed to bring good design to market.
The entire collective of 6 have moved forward both personally and professionally as a result of filming the TV show, they are now excited to launch their future careers and impact positively on the lives of others through the products they create…
Contact information
Ilsa Parry: www.rethinkthings.co.uk , www.ilsaparry.com
Michael Cloke: www.michaelcloke.co.uk
Ana-Maria Pasescu Stewart: www.anamariadesign.com
Trevor Brinkman: www.trevorbrinkman.com
Robert Richardson: www.robrichdesign.co.uk
Watch episode 1 of Design for life : BBCiplayer (UK only)
Philippe Starck Design For life Reality TV Show : FADwebsite
Philippe Starck Design For life Reality TV Show: designboom
Stephen Bayley on Philippe Starck’s New Show: The Guardian
Freshly squeezed talent: The Independent
