Huw Roberts
Project title:Stitch, The Hardened Leather Bowl
Can you tell us a little more about your project?
I have a big interest in using materials for a different purpose than they should be used for. Most people, when they think of leather, think about car interiors or chairs but I wanted to take a different approach to leather by creating a leather bowl. In addition to creating a leather bowl, I wanted to use different unique methods which have been used to form and change the properties of leather. I used a hardening method to give the leather a lot of strength to keep its shape and also used different stitching methods to stitch the pieces together.
How important is being able to exhibit externally?
Being able to exhibit externally means a lot to me. It will give me confidence in front of people and also give me experience in showcasing my work outside of university. In addition, it will be really good experience that I can add to my portfolio which not many people will have been able to do.
What has your highlight of the course been so far?
The highlight of my course was when I created a lighting solution for Philips Lighting. I felt this was a big turning point in my design process as I was able to create a unique and different lighting solution all out of 3D printing.
Could you tell us a little more about your design interests?
I am interested in minimalistic design and like to explore new and upcoming materials. I also like to create designs and ideas out of materials which are not well known for that purpose such as my leather bowl.
What advice would you give to someone considering studying Product and Furniture Design at BCU?
My advice would be to never leave anything till last minute. There has been several times where I have had to change and adapt to things that have happened to my design and I always think to myself, if I started this later I would have not be able to do it, so always leave loads of time to start modelling, prototyping and making before the deadline.
Follow Huw here @huwroberts_designs
