ABOUT

Pioneers of Plastic formed a major part of my final major project for my degree. It ended up as a major collaboration between myself, Tommy Morrison (Designer - Wild Ilk) and Richard Snell (Furniture Designer and Author)

An Introduction
This project has changed a great deal since it rst came about. Originally, it was going to just be a coffee table book of interesting furniture, and to an extent it still is.
When I was in the initial stages of the idea, I asked if anyone I knew had interesting or renowned furniture and to my surprise quite a few people did. The exhibitions manager at Birmingham City University (BCU), John Hall, gave me some very good advice. He said I should focus more on one subject, and that I should email Richard Snell. Richard showed interest in the project and made the suggestion that the book could be based around the exhibition that he’d put on at the University. The exhibition was centered on the development on polypropylene, and its use in furniture. It proved to be the focus that the project needed and provided an excellent subject matter.
Coming from a purely visual perspective, I was looking for interesting shape and form in the chairs and this has been the backbone for the photographs that I’ve taken. Some chairs are purely uid curves and others are solid lines. Some even blend the two together in strange and mystical ways that only furniture designers can comprehend.
This book has two distinct parts, the main section takes a look at the iconic British designer Robin Day and his contributions to the design industry with his use of polypropylene. The second part of the book is a timeline giving the bigger picture. It does have a focus on a couple of the other big names in furniture, Charles & Ray Eames and Arne Jacobsen. These were designers that we felt had really made a pivotal contribution to the industry.