Edward Johnson FSDC

Edward Johnson established his business in 2009 after gaining invaluable experience working in the furniture design and manufacturing industry. He graduated in 2007 from Buckinghamshire Chilterns University with a first-class honours degree. Edward has since gone on to develop a deep understanding for his craft and now produces museum quality furniture for private and commercial clients.

Edward describes his work as ‘being led by a core desire to challenge and innovate’. His designs are often conceptually based, but with form and function always at the fore. Edward perceives both beauty and usefulness in equal parts when designing and developing his ideas into thought-provoking, fluid and tactile forms. One of his principal aims is to challenge our understanding of what is possible, which he achieves through creative aptitude and his mastered ability to engineer in wood.

The works in this gallery show selected pieces from three of Edward’s Signature Collections: Ripples, Freeform and Murano.

The Ripples Collection pushes the concept of laminating in a whole new direction. The principal intention was to create elegant, clean and fluid forms which allow the materials to provide the detail. Inspired by the action of a stone dropping into water, Edward wanted to give the illusion of concentric ripples engulfing the entire form; bringing movement, life and softness to the surfaces.

The Murano Collection was inspired by a visit to the island of Murano, Venice. Venetian master craftsmen have been producing glassware for centuries, by floating layers of different coloured glass through one another to produce exquisite patterns. The Murano Collection again stemmed from Edward’s interest and expertise in laminating. This time his aim was to develop an organic free-flowing form reminiscent of Venetian glass. To create this effect, hundreds of thin strips of wood are cut in Edward’s workshop and joined together using contrasting tones of timber, resulting in sweeping lines and curves that engulf the furniture, bringing a soft, organic surface to the angular forms. Edward sees this process as a way ‘to manipulate the grain of the wood as an artist would manipulate paint with a brush’.

The Freeform Collection pushes laminating to its limits in a very different way to the methods adopted for the Ripples and Murano Collection. The sweeping curved elements used in the construction are made from one continuous length of timber, using various moulding techniques to shape and manipulate the material. Each curved element is then finished by hand using various spoke-shaves, requiring outstanding craftsmanship and a keen eye for detail.

Education
2007 - Buckinghamshire Chilterns University College, High Wycombe,
First Class BA (Hons) Furniture Design & Craftsmanship

2006 - Stenebyskolan Academy of Design & Crafts, Dalsland, Sweden (1 month exchange)

Employment
2009 - Present - Director / Owner, Edward Johnson Ltd, Bosham, Chichester, West Sussex

Awards
2019 - ‘Radiant Desk’, Bespoke Guild Mark (475), Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
2016 - ‘Bog Oak Ripples’, Bespoke Guild Mark (460), Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
2016 - ‘Orbis’, Bespoke Guild Mark (458), Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
2013 - ‘Ripples’ winner of bespoke furniture category at The Wood Awards
2011 - ‘Perpetual Bloom’, Bespoke Guild Mark (438), Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers
2011 - ‘Volumptuous’ sideboard short-listed for The Wood Awards
2010 - ‘Ed, Edd & Eddy’, Certificate of Merit, Worshipful Company of Furniture Makers

Selected Exhibitions
2018 - Evolution of Tradition: Exceptional British Designers, Chelsea Harbour, London (Oct 2018)
2018 - MADE London: Canary Wharf, East Wintergarden, 43 Bank Street, London
2017 - MADE London: Canary Wharf, London
2016 - CCD Selection, Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
2016 - Designer Crafts on the Mall, Society of Designer Craftsmen, Mall Galleries, London
2016 - Inspired, The Goldsmiths’ Centre, Britton Street, Clerkenwell, London
2016 - London Craft Week, Celebration of Craftsmanship and Design, Craft Central, London
2015 - Inspired, The Goldsmiths’ Centre, Britton Street, Clerkenwell, London
2013 - 100% Design, The Wood Awards, Earl’s Court, London
2011 - 21st Century Furniture III, Millinery Works Gallery, Southgate Road, Islington, London
2010 - 21st Century Furniture II, The Millinery Works Gallery, Southgate Road, Islington, London
2009 - Making the Future, Timothy Mark, New Quebec Street, London

Selected Publications & Press
2017 - How to circle the square by Jonathan Foyle, Financial Times (Weekend Edition)
2017 - A Rippled Coffee Table That Makes a Splash - Design Milk (online editorial)
2017 - Bespoke Creations by Charlotte Harding - etc. Magazine
2015 - Fully Furnished by Alice Cook - Sussex Life Magazine
2013 - AURA - The Rolls Royce Magazine
2013 - Wood Awards - RIBA Journal
2013 - Desire the best of things in life, International Property Magazine
2012 - If it's hip it's here (online editorial)
2011 - In.Dustry - Britain’s Greatest Furniture Designers - InDesign Magazine
2011 - How to spend it - Financial Times Magazine
2011 - The Volumptuous Sideboard - Contemporist (online editorial)
2011 - Brave Ambition by Vanessa Austin Locke - Furniture & Cabinetmaking Magazine
2011 - Hi Home Magazine (Russian edition)

Commissions
Edward Johnson had been commissioned to design and make bespoke furniture for a range of clientele from private patrons, architects and interior designers. His work is held in many private collections.