FMP Trip to ARTifex Gallery 15th March

Trip to ARTifex Gallery   15th March

With my research part of my FMP coming to an end, it means I can use my free time to expand on my research. With my afternoon free, I could take a trip down to the ARTifex gallery. With its large selection of jewellery, it would be a good choice for my project, but the reason I went today was to learn more about the bespoke side they offer, especially the bespoke furniture.

The ARTifex gallery has many beautiful items for sale, from painting to jewellery, and all from local and small businesses from around the midlands. They rotate the display, giving the viewer something new to see and buy each week, while also giving the designers a chance to exhibit.

As well as jewellery, glass work, pottery and art, ARTifex also sell furniture made by artists from around the midlands. With a large part of the downstairs dedicated to the furniture, they have a selection of different styles and range of furniture to fit everyone's needs. This collection gives local artists the chance to show their designs off in a gallery setting.

One such designer is Robert Scott Carpenter. He has a studio in his home town of Preston where he has worked since 2013. Robert hasn't always been a furniture designer, instead he has travelled many parts of the world working as an aircraft fitter. This has given him an eye for detail that he shows in his furniture.

Robert gathers inspiration from many things. One of the main areas he draws on was when he was travelling to different parts of Asia and later New Zealand to create his work. Taking inspiration from his travels, his designs have an smooth aerodynamic feel to them, no doubt this is from when he worked as an aircraft fitter. With the use of smooth lines and soft curves, the furniture Robert produces is a work of art, taking on unusual forms that seem to mimic air patterns. It feels like the furniture 'moves'.

With his use of different techniques, Robert makes truly unique pieces that has a lot of his personality and style. Using hand carving and pressing to make each item, no two pieces of furniture are the same. This means that each has its own characteristics, giving personality to the objects themselves.

While ARTifex do sell a large selection, sometimes the client asks for some bespoke personalised pieces that they want the artist to make. Most of the time the people have a specific idea in mind for what they want their piece of furniture to look like, but others need more help realising their ideas.

This process starts off with the customer coming in to ARTifex knowing what designer they would like to work with. They have a idea of what style they want. More often than not they pick aspects of an existing piece of furniture by the artist and want it changed in some way, be it the shape or size or the type of wood its been made out of.

The ARTifex Gallery sends the artist, or one of the sales assistants over to the customer's house to see the place where the furniture would be placed. This helps to get to know the person's tastes and match the other decor in the room. Then a couple of weeks later the technical designs are drawn up to show the client what the final piece would look like.

This process is to give the client the opportunity to choose every aspect of their furniture to their needs and tastes. It gives them an unique piece that is their design from the shape, type of wood and even the inside of the drawers, making something that is truly part of their home and lives.

http://robertscottfurniture.tumblr.com/