AFDA Revisited – James Walsh
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AFDA Revisited – James Walsh
Designed in collaboration with Australian Furniture Design Award (AFDA) winner and local designer, James Walsh, Stylecraft’s new Tuck collection is unified by chamfered angles that play with shadow, evoking an architectural approach to construction.
Featuring an armchair, lounge and rectangular-shaped coffee table, Tuck embodies contemporary craftsmanship and carefully considered details, and is suitable for both commercial and residential spaces.
James Walsh was selected from a shortlist of five finalists, who were invited to present their realised designs for exhibition at the Stylecraft showroom in Melbourne, followed by virtual judging.
.Through the reinvention of an ancient material tradition by combining rammed earth with recycled glass fillings to produce a sustainable composite, the Sydney-based industrial designer won the 2020 Australian Furniture Design Award (AFDA) for his entry, Anthropic Bench. The material is realised in a design exhibiting an intelligent assembly that is beautifully detailed and resolved.
As part of the 2020 Melbourne Design Week, Stylecraft partnered with the National Gallery of Victoria to present James with the $20,000 first prize and an invitation to develop a design through to commercial production for distribution and a two-week residency program at JamFactory in Adelaide.
As a result of winning AFDA, James worked closely with the Stylecraft Product team and local manufacturers to create his debut collection, Tuck.
Blending the organic and natural beauty of timber with soft comfort upholstery, Tuck seeks the balance between soft and hard, casual and refined.
The Tuck lounge and armchair feature high resilience foam combined with feather fill to the backrest and armrest providing an inviting, comfortable seat. A strap detail to the side ‘tucks’ the armrest into place within the frame. The solid timber frame draws upon the simplicity of angles for structural integrity whilst invoking an architectural approach to construction.
View the Tuck collection here.
Stylecraft’s local design offering was with the addition of a tactile rug also designed by Australian Furniture Design Award winner, James Walsh, Lattice.
Designed by James Walsh, Lattice creates a three-dimensional effect for living spaces and public environments, playfully pairing subtle geometric details with bold colour.
Lattice breaks away from traditional rug designs, experimenting with pile height and texture, graphic elements, and perimeter detailing to create the impression that each part of the design exists on a different plane.
The collection includes six contemporary colour variations, featuring a 12mm cut pile in New Zealand wool divided by grid lines in contrasting colour with a fluted texture. Custom colours and sizes can be specified upon request.
Stylecraft donates a percentage of proceeds from the sale of each rug to Tjanpi Desert Weavers (TDW). Based in Alice Springs, TDW enables over 400 female artists in remote central Australia to earn their own income from fibre art.