January 6, 2021 |
New year, new you, same bloody four walls of that bedroom of yours. It’s so 2020 that we ended up rounding off the god awful year with a New Years Eve spent in front of the telly and a third national lockdown announced 4 days later. The idea of working-from-home was probably fun at first, but after 10 months of being plonked at the cramped desk in your room – or hunched over the kitchen table – you’re probably sick of looking at your gaff. All the more reason for a spot of decorating, ey? Here are five independent designers and furniture stores that are worth the wonga. You won’t be disappointed.
James Shaw
Have you ever got excited about a toilet roll holder before now? London-based James Shaw’s Instagram bio reads that he’s a “designer of fine objects”, making blobby ceramics, baroque fruit bowls and cutlery, and of course, those delightful toilet roll holders: coated in candy hues. God, we’ll never be off the bog once we have one of these beauties. We’ll plonk ourselves there all day, kecks down, just admiring our new purchase.
You can shop James Shaw through Apoc Store here.
Seungin Yang
Think you’re hard because you can whip up a balloon animal? How about trying to make an actual chair, instead? Yes, that’s right, South Korean designer Seungin Yang makes sit-able furniture-cum-art pieces that start out as balloons. Fascinated by the flexibility of what balloons can shape into, in 2013, Yang began solidifying the rubber structures using several layers of epoxy, resulting in full-on, cartoon fantasies.
Enquire about Seungin Yang’s work here.
Daisy Tortuga
This lockdown, we hope everyone skips on the banana bread and TikTok dances and gets straight to rug making. It’s become quite the popular activity amongst Gen Zers last year, making for much more interesting rugs than that tatty old thing your landlord left in the hallway. There’s plenty of good stuff out there, but we’re particularly drawn to Daisy Tortuga, who makes cherubs, bowls of ramen and Nandos logos that feel warm and fuzzy on your toes.
Shop Daisy Turta here.
Pansy Ass Ceramics
Bear in mind ceramics can often look a bit rude anyway – being phallic and all – but Toronto-based shop Pansy Ass Ceramics makes the sort of X-rated concoctions that most definitely are NSFWorking-from-home. Whether its gradient butt-plugs that tickle your pickle, or incense burners shaped like cocks and bums, Pansy Ass Ceramics makes the sort of tastefully sexual home decor you might want to pop in a cupboard if your mum pops round for a brew.
Shop Pansy Ass Ceramics here.
Oswalde Shop
Furniture geek Jenna Fletcher put her love for chairs, tables and 1960s magazine stands to the test by launching Oswalde Shop. The Insta furniture store was set up by the 28-year-old slap last May, selling the rare sort of retro furniture you probably reblogged on Tumblr back in 2014. Cracking stuff all round.
DM Oswalde Shop to enquire about an item here.
