The American Hardwood Export Council has teamed up with the Royal College of Art to merge design with sustainability at the Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair
The American Hardwood Export Council is showcasing Out of the Woods at the fair. This innovative collaboration between the American Hardwood Export Council and the Royal College of Art Design Products programme seeks to offer a fascinating approach to working with an age-old material – American hardwood.
Out of the Woods explores the creative and environmental potential of this naturally renewable material by looking at the entire life cycle of each product.
Working with British furniture producer Benchmark, internationally renowned for its craftsmanship in wood, RCA students – under tutors Sebastian Wrong (Hay) and Harry Richardson (Committee) – each designed a functional chair or seat using American hardwood.
The students camped on Conran’s lawn by night and descended on Benchmark’s workshops by day in early July 2012 where the company’s highly skilled craftsmen, led by owner Sean Sutcliffe, helped them turn their ideas into reality.
“I was very impressed with the quality of the designs and the students’ enthusiasm for their projects,” says Sutcliffe. “As experts in woodworking, we saw some very strong pieces come to fruition.”
