Ecommerce portal Simple Shape launches today on the premise that ‘that working with good people, making good things, makes good sense’. Using the wise motto as a starting point for her business, founder Helen Osgerby has gathered a carefully selected roster of designers and makers, whose work is linked by a minimalist aesthetic and functional purpose.
‘One of the guiding principles behind Simple Shape is that the things in the collection have all been designed, made and crafted in the UK and Ireland,’ explains Osgerby, whose goal is to sell pieces that celebrate manufacturing skills and design savoir-faire.
The first collection (currently available on the site) includes ceramics by Dove Street Pottery and Elliott Ceramics, stationery from Tom Pigeon’s remote Scottish studio and London printers Esme Winter. Textiles from Irish linen experts 31 Chapel Lane and British Isles-woven blankets by Eleanor Pritchard sit alongside minimal but poetic wooden pieces by Sheffield-based Roanna Wells and Devon’s Rosie Brewer.
The objects in the selection are intended to stand the test of time, and the purpose is for them to ‘age gracefully, wear in, not wear out, and be passed to children and grandchildren.’ Osgerby’s goal is to support and maintain the craftsmanship heritage of the area while celebrating design and function.
Simple Shape's motto says ‘that working with good people, making good things, makes good sense’.
Textiles from Irish linen experts 31 Chapel Lane and British Isles-woven blankets by Eleanor Pritchard sit alongside minimal but poetic wooden pieces by Sheffield-based Roanna Wells and Devon’s Rosie Brewer
Made in her workshop in Devon, Rosie Brewer uses the history of the timber to inform her designs
Salad servers by Roanna Wells. Each spoon is individually hand carved from Sycamore trees felled in Norfolk
The Elliott Ceramics collection, made from porcelain, has a marbling effect produced by stain being working into the bod of the clay before being trown on the wheel
The exterior of these bowls are sanded smooth and licked with a clear glazeto the interior creating a contrast between inside and out
Dove Street Pottery is made from fine white stoneware clay
-
Riva El-Iseo is the legendary boat builder’s first fully-electric motor yachtThe Riva El-Iseo electric speedboat blends classic Italian lines with a silent, powerful and zero-emission powertrain
-
Technogym Home Bench 40 ways: designers interpret the home exercise classicTechnogym marks its 40 anniversary with 40 special editions of its Home Bench created in collaboration with international creatives
-
AHEC presents new works in American maple as part of the Wallpaper* Class of ’24The American Hardwood Export Council takes part in the Wallpaper* Class of ’24 exhibition at Triennale Milano during Salone del Mobile (16-21 April 2024), presenting new pieces by Parti and Giles Tettey Nartey in American hard maple
-
RH takes over historical Aynho Park, UKAynho Park becomes American furniture brand RH’s first destination outside the US, a new venture that merges architectural history and hospitality
-
Chatsworth House design exhibition explores contemporary design themes in an eclectic setting‘Mirror Mirror: Reflections on Design at Chatsworth House’ (18 March – 1 October 2023) offers a novel point of view on the house's interiors and contemporary design, through a series of works by some of today’s most celebrated designers
-
Brexit and the design industry: ‘It’s hampering creativity’Three years after Brexit, we asked designers, design entrepreneurs and representatives of British design organisations how the withdrawal from the European Union has affected the design industry
-
PAD London celebrates the past and present of collectible designPAD London (until 16 October 2022) returns for a new edition presenting historical and collectible design
-
Carpenters Workshop Gallery opens in Ladbroke HallThe new west London location includes gallery space as well as a restaurant, a hidden garden and events spaces, and makes its debut with displays of works by David Adjaye and Jose Zanine Caldas
-
Made in London dives into the city’s rich collection of 21st-century factoriesMade in London is a photographic journey through the capital’s surprisingly rich and diverse manufacturing scene, capturing everything from aircraft interiors to cardboard boxes, and everything in between
-
Park benches in unexpected materials nod to Scottish landscapeFive designers breathe new life into the traditional park bench as part of a project with Design Exhibition Scotland (until 15 October 2022)
-
London’s iconic Tube map design grows two new stationsAs the London Tube map grows to include two brand new stations, we speak to the designer safeguarding its famous design codes
