FACETURE homeware09. Feb2012
London-based designer Phil Cuttance creates Faceture vases using a low-tech mobile workshop created by himself. This is a demostration that handcrafts are not dead but in fact are as contemporary as ever.
The Facetures are 'cranked' shapes with crisp, faceted forms transformed in a series of housewares that consists in flower vases, pendant shades, and a table - for the moment.
"Each object is produced individually by casting a water-based resin into a simple handmade mould. The mould is then manually manipulated to create the each object's form before each casting, making every piece utterly unique." - Phil Cuttance
Standard colors are charcoal, blue, yellow, pink, and white but custom colors are also available.
The amazing process from making the mold to the final creation of the houseware item can be seen in the demonstrative film on Phill Cuttance site.
Images by Petr Krejci & Phil Cuttance
Each vase is handmade, unique and numbered on the base.---
Each light shade is handmade, unique, and numbered on the top. Light shades available in blue, charcoal, pink, yellow. Custom colors available.---
Each table is handmade, unique and numbered on the base.---
"The FACETURE machine's construction is simple and purposeful, screwed together to allow it to be flat-packed for shipping. Wheels make the machine portable within a working space. The shelving beneath provides storage for freshly cast pieces, and room for the casting stool to be stored.The ‘hopper’ holding the Jesmonite powder is made simply from polypropylene sheet, in the same way as the moulds."
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"The casting jig at the back of the machine is simple and allows me to peer into the mould and control the flow of the fast setting Jesmonite. This means it is being cast evenly and economically, leaving a thin yet strong wall thickness. It can be attached at two different widths to accommodate different sized moulds i.e. vases or a table."---
Phil Cuttance working on The Machine.---
The FACETURE process"First the mould of the object is hand-made by scoring and cutting a sheet of 0.5mm plastic sheet. This sheet is then folded, cut and taped into the overall shape of the product that is to be cast. The mould's final shape, and strength, is dictated by which triangular facets I pop in and out. I do this each time I ready the mould for the next object, meaning that no two castings are the same. I then mix a water-based casting resin that is cast in the mould where it sets solid.
The resin is poured into the hollow mould and rolled around to coat and encase the sides, controlled by me on the casting jig on the machine. The material soon sets creating a hollow solid object. Then another, different coloured measure of resin is poured into the same mould, and swirled around inside, over the first. When it has set, the mould is removed to reveal the solid set cast piece. The casting appears with sharp accurate lines and a digital quality to its aesthetic, a visual 'surprise' considering the ‘lo-fi’, hand-made process from which it came. The mould is then cleaned and ready for re-use."
