Designer Spotlight Series
Flat packs of delight from Giles Miller
OK, don’t panic. We’re going to talk about cardboard and flat-packs. We’re also going to talk about a remarkable design talent called Giles Miller. If you are ever lucky enough to find yourself wandering between East London’s favourite Sunday markets in Columbia Road and Brick Lane you will pass his shop. Its the one with the crowd of curious shoppers peering in through the window. And if you call in you may find yourself leaving with a flat pack cardboard sofa, chair or even grandfather clock. And if you can’t make it over to London E2, well many of his products are here.
This is a flat pack, cardboard grandfather clock. It doesn’t go tic-toc but it does have shelves. And it’s wonderful, one of the wittiest pieces we’ve seen for a long time. I actually came across one in Florida. The proud owner had checked it in as a flat-pack on her flight home from business in London. You however don’t have to, Giles Miller will happily ship to just about anywhere. There’s a lot more cardboard and more flat-packs but we wanted to show you what else Giles can do.
This is Giles’s Flute Dresser Screens demonstrating the extraordinary effect of Giles Miller’s signature production process. It’s made from corrugated cardboard with black powder coated frames. It is intricate and mesmerizing. And there is more to Giles than cardboard.
Yes, there’s Lego. Again, witty and stylish and totally unexpected. The bricks are glued and carved. The table is pure fun. We’re going to get back to the cardboard soon, but first look at this:
You’ve seen vases before but have you ever seen a vase you can mold into shape? The Hirsutio is made out of Brass ‘hairs’, with a black anodised aluminium core, glass vessel centre. The brass ‘hairs’ are brushed around to form the shape, in a style reminiscent of traditional ceramic pot production. The surprises never stop. This is an interior design blog but we feel the need to show you a handbag.
Yes, its a brown cardboard handbag. And it deserves to become a design icon. It is absolutely inspired. There is a lot of self indulgent pompous nonsense in our industry, Giles Miller is the antidote. If you ever need cheering up go look at his work on our site. The following piece, however, isn’t on Modenus.
This is on the wall of the Stella McCartney store in Paris. It’s cardboard and it leaves us speechless. And you won’t hear that too often.