Hi everyone – a very happy new year to you all!

Here’s something to kick us off…

We discovered Imogen Luddy at the London Design Festival (held in September 2010)… and we’ve been gazing longingly at her work ever since.

Imogen recently graduated from the Royal College of Art (RCA) and her practice encompasses everything from wallpapers, to fabrics, surfaces and desirable products for the interior environment.

She laser-cuts, embroiders, crochets and potters (in the ceramic sense); she applies innovative techniques to traditional crafts… as you can see she’s digitised antique lace, doilies and embroidered samplers to produce some really interesting results.

Here she talks a little more about her work…

DQ: Tell us about your creative background.

IL: I studied textiles at Goldsmiths College for my BA degree.

The course  had a fine art approach to textiles, so my work was much more conceptual and my final show and subsequent work was installation pieces and wall pieces to be shown in a gallery context.

At that point I had not given much thought to a  design-based approach to textiles, and functional pieces had never been a consideration.

I embarked on a Masters in textiles at RCA 2 years ago after deciding I really wanted to pursue design in textiles.

I think as you start to get a little older you become much more interested in objects/products/textiles for the home.

I was really keen to make things that I’d want to have in my own house.

The Mixed Media Textiles course at RCA was the perfect course as it allowed me to explore so many different materials and processes – experimenting with stainless steel, ceramics, marquetry and numerous other techniques.

I’d say the areas of design that interest me most are product design and textiles. I like to think my work combines both of these.

DQ:  Tell us about the body of work your showed at the 2010 London Design Festival.

IL: It was a culmination of the work I did at RCA, having only just graduated 2 months prior to exhibiting with Designers Block.

The pieces I displayed show my interest in new material and technologies combined with my love of old traditions and practices.

I have a huge passion for old techniques and processes such as crocheting, embroidery and lace-making, both for their aesthetic quality and because of the nostalgia they can evoke.

I wanted to capture some of this feeling whilst making what I considered to be contemporary and modern products and pieces.

Some of my more ‘un-functional’ pieces such as the Crochet chair and plate are more an attempt to provide awkward juxtapositions of different processes.

I think people find them quite witty or amusing, which is something I like.

DQ: Tell us what you have planned for 2011!

IL: Having sold some of my larger works to commission I would like to pursue this aspect of my practice further, I would be really keen to make more bespoke works for individuals.

In February I will be displaying a ‘wall’ of my products with Supermarket Sarah, where I will be selling more of my smaller pieces.

Hopefully I will give more time to start developing more products and making more pieces for retail.

I’d love to start seeing my work in shops like SCP, and Liberty in 2011.

Imogen Luddy
imogenluddy.co.uk