Alchemy as part of our process…
The process of designing furniture is hard to qualify.
A system that sparks ideas one day can leave us lack-luster another. A bit like alchemy, the profession of ‘DESIGN’ can be a bit of a ‘Dark Arts’ mystery. And just to be clear we are not cooking ‘eyes of newts’ over a cauldron but we are thinking about and playing with fire these days… literally.
The above image is a photographic collage of ideas and collections that we have here as a studio and a family. Sculptures, fossils, collected branches, small objects molded by little hands, rocks, shells and sand from our local beaches. Burnt drift wood and paintings & material samples we like.
Coloured ink and pencil drawing by Karla of Eucalyptus branch during a bush fire
“Alchemy*
/ˈalkɪmi/ noun
a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or combination.”
We have been thinking about and investigating the process of blackening woods, mark making with charcoals. Remembering the images of vast eucalyptus forests on fire*, the smell of melted tar dribbling down buildings and the sound of charred leaves waving in the wind like black fringing. Fires so hot that plastics melt, scorches skins and leaves the sand blistering hot underfoot.
*Note: Not all fire is destructive. Fire has been a constant visitor to Australian forests for millions of years. It has shaped the evolution of many plant species and communities. In fact, many species are not only adapted to fire, but actually have features that help to promote it. Fire is an essential part of the life cycle of many plant communities, including dry eucalypt forests and wet eucalypt forests.
Alchemy
Fire, flames, embers, coals.
Scorching, blistering, searing and scolding
Themes that we are exploring with our FESTIVAL OF THE MINI BAR and MINI BAR moods… this summer.
I have spent time painting memories of my homeland and burning trees whilst Leonhard has been at Snocker burning oak with a flame torch. Both have been cathartic and both are part of our Alchemy story.
We are storytellers at heart and tell our stories through our work - material choices, experimentation, process and the final form. Each piece of furniture we design has these story thoughts woven into them and by sharing them a deeper understanding and connection grows.
2022 will see us celebrate the 15 year anniversary of the MINI BAR with another customised batch collection of Leonhard Pfeifer’s MINI BAR. With our recent delivery of MINI BARS from our Estonian producers Woodman, we are excited to start work on this experiment and explore materials, processes and finishes to re-image our beloved MINI BAR.
Whilst creating each new piece by hand we will be speculating on the ancient art of alchemy, a seemingly magical process of transformation, creation or combination. And you never know, we may transform one into gold in the process… Stay tuned.
Thanks and cheers
x Karla and Leonhard