In early July, New Designers 2026 provided an essential platform for more than 2,500 design graduates to present their visionary ideas to industry professionals and the public. The event featured work spanning a broad spectrum of disciplines, including Furniture; Product and Industrial Design; Architecture and Graphic Design.
Below, explore just a small sample of the talent on display within the furniture and product design categories:
Emily Thompson, University of Lincoln, Product Design
Project title: Gilded Scars
Gilded Scars is a furniture design project that raises awareness of timber waste in the UK by celebrating the beauty of defects, particularly woodworm damage. The armchair is made from three types of rescued timber that would otherwise have been incinerated. Emily reinforced the damaged wood using various manufacturing techniques while leaving the woodworm holes visible. She filled these natural patterns with gold leaf, giving the project its name, Gilded Scars, as a tribute to the beauty of imperfection.
Zobiya Asif, University of Staffordshire, BA (Hons) Product, Furniture, Ceramics
Project title: Char Ki Kursi
Zobiya is a designer-maker specialising in woodwork and craftsmanship, creating pieces that blend function, culture, and identity. Char Ki Kursi (“the seat of four”) reflects her British Pakistani heritage, combining contemporary furniture design with traditional Pakistani influences. The piece transforms into a Ludo board game, encouraging social interaction and celebrating community, storytelling, and cultural connection.
Ed Satchell, University of Plymouth, Product, Furniture & Interior Design
Project title: The Turnham Chair
“The craftsperson wanders through an ancient British woodland selectively coppicing the components of a chair. The woodland provides hazel sticks for chair legs, support rails and backrests, that grow for an annual harvest.
“A short distance away, sheep, that breathe the same air as the trees, are being shorn for wool. The land provides the materials for high quality, comfortable and elegant furniture. The Turnham chair was grown on a farm and carefully hand crafted by a farmer’s son.”
