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When James Howe stumbled across Børge Mogensen’s iconic J39 Shaker-style chair online in 2015, it was the catalyst for his interest in furniture. He left his career as a magazine writer to become a furniture designer and, a year later, joined the associate program at South Australian craft and design organization, Jam Factory. Today, the Adelaide-based designer and maker is based in a workshop in Edwardstown. It’s here that he has honed his craft, creating exquisitely finished pieces that are cerebral in concept and elegant in aesthetic.
James is a thinker, but he also believes in keeping things playful and light. “There’s never been so much stuff smashing you in the eyeballs, and social pressures are high. Your unique ‘creation pond’ – the part of you that is capable of generating high-quality, original ideas – is a fragile ecosystem,” he reflects. “My own creativity-killers are perfectionism, trying to impress other people, attempting to satisfy a fashion demand or absorbing too many images of other people’s stuff. But when I manage these pollutants, ideas come easier and they’re far more interesting and original.”
Handwoven Danish paper cord elevates the minimalist design of Rushcutters Bench.
Image:
Peter Ryle, styled by Nat Turnbull.
With all of these distractions under control, James’s minimalist sensibilities prevail and his reductionist approach ultimately champions sophisticated materiality and craftsmanship. His J7 day bed is the best expression of what he does, with its simple raw timber base topped by a powder-coated steel frame wrapped in handwoven Danish cord.
James uses the same weaving technique in the Rushcutters Bench, painstakingly handweaving every single one himself. This piece, in particular, pays homage to Mogensen’s J39 chair, while offering a contemporary exploration of woven seating. In stark contrast, his J4 tables and J5 credenza are a study in the dynamics of light and shade via delicate fluting in the solid timber. The addition of semi-translucent acrylic on the tables pushes the interplay by simultaneously absorbing and reflecting the light.
The J7 day bed combines a chunky base with steel frame and tactile cord.
Image:
Courtesy James Howe
All of James’s designs possess this same sensuality and it’s little wonder he prefers using timbers with a coarse grain. He approaches colour in the same way and will only use hues capable of generating strong emotions, either in the end user or himself. The inspiration for using teal on the J7 day bed’s steel frame, for example, comes from a memory of a school excursion where the vision of a stack of teal-coloured wooden crates in the middle of a sparse setting made a lasting impression.
Currently designing a dining table, chairs for a hairdressing salon and a new woven product, James is committed to developing his own signature style. “As I mature as a designer, I increasingly find myself prioritizing having fun and expressing my authentic voice over pursuing conventional success or commercial objectives,” he says. “So my work is possibly going to start getting a bit weird. Stay tuned.”
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