British designer Faye Toogood chose a quote by Charlotte Perriand to introduce her latest project, a curation of Friedman Benda's booth at PAD London (until 19 October 2025).
'Pebbles, bits of shoes, lumps of wood riddled with holes, horsehair brushes – all smoothed and ennobled by the sea…' said the French master, listing a series of objects found on a beach and considered treasures by the inquisitive mind. The idea of finding beauty in mundane, even discarded objects lies at the heart of the British designer's work for the booth, which she describes as 'a tribute to curiosity, collecting and curating.'
The Madpie's Nest by Faye Toogood at PAD London
Faye Toogood's Barrow stool and Lode I console in hand-carved oak displaying Thaddeus Wolfe's Untitled blown glass object. On the right is Misha Kahn's Miss Fishy chair
The installation includes works by Toogood, including pieces made for the occasion such as The Magpie Tapestries, featuring an ode to found objects, and the Maquette chairs in wire and paper, the latter also chosen as the winner of the PAD London Contemporary Design Prize. Alongside her work, she has curated a series of objects and furniture that offer different points of view on the natural world, created by the likes of Misha Kahn, Andrea Branzi and Fernando and Humberto Campana. 'The Magpie’s Nest is not a vitrine of trophies, it’s an uplifting and energetic choir of colliding collective voices,' she says.
Creatures of Love bronze chandelier by Faye Toogood
The design curation is enriched by a series of found objects, foraged sticks, stones and broken bones from Toogood's own collections displayed amongst the artworks.
'My dad was a really big bird watcher, so we were always out walking and foraging. I didn't have a huge amount in the way of toys, instead I was encouraged to collect natural things,' she says. 'One day it might be sticks and so back to the house we would come with a bundle of sticks, tie them up, make something with them. Another day pebbles from the beach. It was this idea that you collect it, and then you do something with it.'
Raphael Navot's Entwined Arc sofa, Andrea Branzi's Lamp (Maple Leaves), Fernando and Humberto Campana's Jalapão Chair, Faye Toogood's Plot II coffee table in Purbeck marble and Vale (on wall
This habit of collecting found objects, arranging them and finding patterns in this collection has been a crucial influence on Toogood's work. 'Over the years lots has been given away, lost or sold, but the things that stay are those tiny treasures gathered from adventures in nature,' she reflects. 'I seem to have passed the obsession on to my daughter Indigo. Just like me she will know exactly what's important in there and what's not, where she got each piece. And then she'll endlessly rearrange it all into her own secret typologies.'
The Magpie's Nest by Faye Toogood for Friedman Benda is on view as part of PAD London until 19 October 2025
Berkeley Square, London W1
Foraged objects
On the Occasion of the Crumbling of Our Empire mirror by Misha Kahn and Maquette 208 / Paper Chair by Faye Toogood
Objects from the Ensemble series by Lebanese artist Najla El Zein
Paisagem Bench by Fernando and Humberto Campana with The Magpie Tapestries 3 by Faye Toogood
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