Awards 2004

The winners of the first annual Hidden Art Awards were announced on Wednesday 1 December at Hoxton Distillery - a great evening with lots of members in attandance! And the Winners are...

 

 

 

 

 

Gary van Broekhoven has been incredibly active since joining Hidden Art in April to exhibit in Milan. He has been a regular attendee at networking evenings, training events and Hidden Art shows, and exhibited at the 100% Design showcase. Gary gained a high number of votes from his fellow members, proving that he embodies the spirit and sense of community valued by Hidden Art members. The Twins coffee tables were selected for the Hidden Art Shop, and Gary also signed up to work in the Shop and talk to customers about his work. Gary always brings his characteristic humour, personality and professionalism to Hidden Art events, making him a great member to work on projects with.

 

Sarah Purvis of the City Fringe Partnership presented Gary with his prize, Black + Blum's latest bathroom accessory, Loo Read, kindly donated by Black + Blum.

 

 

 

 

Since launching their products at Milan with Hidden Art in April, Committee has taken the design world by storm. Their kebab lamp, which is made from assembled pieces of china and ornaments rescued from car boot sales, aims to make people reconsider their old junk as valuable objects, even in a contemporary setting. The idea went on to win Elle Deco's Best Lighting Product of the Year and Committee were asked to exhibit in Tokyo as part of the British Council's showcase of the best contemporary lighting in Britain today. Harry and Clare's report of their Tokyo experiences can be found on the Hidden Art website, and the pair also staged their T-Shirt Project as an interactive design installation at the Hidden Art Forum in June. Their Shop in Deptford can be visited as part of Hidden Art Open Studios until Christmas.

 

Hidden Art's Events and Membership Assistant Vicky Fabbri presented Committee with their prize, a year's Friend Membership to the Design Museum, kindly donated by the Design Museum.

 

 

 

 

Kate Storer has proved very successful at producing and selling her signature range of bedlinen and nightwear in the UK. In 2003 she was approached by "Pricerite" one of Hong Kong's largest and most successful retailers. Kate signed a contract for them to distribute her trademark products under license across Asia, and negotiated a manufacturing facility through them. Kate has since designed two ranges of furniture to go into their 46 stores, and they are now in talks to launch Kate Storer stores worldwide.

 

Matthew Lewis, Design Brokerage Manager at Mazorca Projects presented Kate with her prize, Heal's Gift Vouchers, kindly donated by Heal's.

 

 

 

 

 

Thelermont Hupton's work is both inventive and playful, basing experimental ideas upon observations of everyday, domestic lifestyles. Their love of bright colours match the prevailing mood of the contemporary design world, and a raft of new products this year have made it into several pages of the design and consumer press, from Icon and Blueprint, to Arena magazine, Time Out, the Times Magazine and Marie Claire.

 

Barbara Chandler, writer for the Evening Standard's Homes and Property section, presented the prize of a year's design magazine subscription of their choice.

 

 

 

 

Sally Hudson of Noodle has kept up her busy schedule of exhibition appearances this year, winning the award for Best Stand at Top Drawer in Autumn, and making her international debut in Milan with Hidden Art. Sally's novel approach of suspending her compugen and tweed lampshades in a low cluster at trade shows creates a little haven, away from the rest of the exhibition. The fabrics, low seating and soft lighting give a cosy, lounging effect that makes the visitor feel at home and allows them to imagine the products in use. Sally also exhibits regularly at Clerkenwell Green as part of the Clerkenwell 3 and with something new to impress her visitors each time, has built up a loyal following.

 

Piers Roberts of Designersblock presented Sally with her prize, a year's design magazine subscription of her choice. 

 

 

 

 

 

The Lite cubed (Lite3 ) by Conscious Forms has been one of the top selling lights in the Hidden Art Shop, since it opened at the beginning of November. Designed by Junior Phipps, Lite3 is a sculptural Low Voltage Halogen Lamp encased in a formed cement cube, which is sensual and smooth to touch. One voter summed up the appeal of its design, calling it "small, original, simple and useful". The judges chose it because it is a great seller and has attracted lots of attention and positive responses from the shoppers. From over 400 product lines stocked in the shop this was a difficult selection to make, but Junior's light looks set to perform well until Christmas.
 

Max Fraser, author and curator of Design UK presented Junior with his award, which was a signed copy of Max's new book, Designers on Design, co-written with Terence Conran. This prize was kindly donated by the authors.

 

 

 

 

2pm have always shown a strong interest in Hidden Art's work, and have embraced the opportunities of the Design and Manufacture Project to commission several new designs from talented Hidden Art members. Based in north London, 2pm specialises in creating innovative 3D designs from flat sheet materials and put good design at the top of their agenda for their manufacturing business. Stuart Robbins at 2pm has worked with over 10 Hidden Art designers this year to launch a new retail range at 100% Design, including the wine glass chandelier by Carl Clerkin and Gitta Gschwendtner, felted boxes by Jasper Startup and Tom Seymour's Oxo award-winning Scratch Light. 2pm also picked up the manufacture of Peter Ayres' Lotus Light designed for Heal's, and this product is currently the 2nd top selling pendant light in their stores.

  

Peter Brimson from the London Development Agency presented 2pm with their award, which was a year's design magazine subscription of their choice. 

 

 

 

 

 

Helen Johannessen worked with Hackney Community College student Rachel Nash over seven months to give Rachel a greater insight into running her own business, ceramic modelling and product development. Under Helen's tuition, Rachel learned about making multi-piece casting moulds for new work, and about surface decoration and transfers. The sessions have given Rachel an idea of how to sell her work and develop new products. Helen has been chosen for her valuable contribution not only as a mentor but also for her input and suggestions on how to improve the mentoring scheme. Cher Butler says: "Working in the same studio as Helen I was able to observe the mentoring process in action and saw both the skills and confidence of her student develop."

 

Dieneke Ferguson, Chief Executive of Mazorca Projects, presented Helen with her prize, Black + Blum's celebrated wine rack, kindly donated by Black + Blum. 

 

 

 

 

Barley Massey has run Fabrications, her gallery in Broadway Market since 2000 as a showcase for her own experimental woven textiles and the work of other designers. Barley invites other Hidden Art members to showcase their work for free on a regularly changing and innovative programme, in a very pleasant setting where Barley's weaving loom, recycled bicycle tubes and her other workspace materials are displayed to all visitors. Fabrications was opened in a refurbished derelict shop, and followed Hidden Art's project to help designer-makers set up their own design shows in 10 empty shop units in 1996. Each year for Hidden Art Open Studios, Barley has played a valuable role in organising PR activities with neighbouring Hidden Art studios to create a welcoming atmosphere for visitors. As a member of the Broadway Market Traders and Residents Association, Barley has played her part in the successful regeneration of Broadway Market into one of the most popular markets in London. A quick plug – this year Broadway Market will be transforming Hidden Art Open Studios into a festival event, staging a life size monopoly game, stilt walkers and Late Night Shopping. And of course lots of fantastic contemporary design works for Christmas. That's taking place until 9pm on Friday 10th and 17th December, in conjunction with the bars and restaurants in the area.

 

Matt Cloves from London Borough of Hackney presented Barley with her prize, which was a year's design magazine subscription of her choice. 

 

 

 

 

Since forming Digitile six years ago, Dominic has established an international reputation for fitting major interiors with his dramatic tiled landscapes, artfully designed in digital format. He has been a regular participant in Hidden Art's initiatives since joining in 1998, opening his studio in Redchurch Street each Christmas for Open Studios, appearing in Hidden Art exhibitions in Milan and New York and taking part in the pilot Design & Manufacture Project in 2002, producing designs for Formica. This year, the fine art trained designer was selected by the luxury drinks brand Bombay Sapphire to be the first in a series of international artists to create visuals for a new global advertising campaign "Bombay Sapphire Inspired". Dominic designed a stunning series of his signature digital tiles called "Complexity" for Bombay Sapphire, who discovered Dominic while he exhibited with Hidden Art at the ICFF in New York. Dominic's work and profile has contributed significantly to the reputation of east London as the place to look for good contemporary design, making him a great ambassador, and he is a well respected and admired part of the Hidden Art community.

 

Tony Simpson from the Government Office for London presented Dominic with his award, a wine glass chandelier by 2pm, designed by Gitta Gschwendtner and Carl Clerkin. This prize was kindly donated by 2pm.

 

 

 

To the Hidden Art team

 

This special award honours the Hidden Art Team at Mazorca Projects for their enthusiasm and dedication over the last year. In addition to our existing projects they have suggested and successfully implemented many new projects, from the networking events, pool of specialists, brokerage service, training vouchers, the quarterly magazine, the shop, another open studios, and last but not least the new Hidden Art website, just to mention a few. The team have contributed to ensuring that we are delivering a professional and effective service to our members.

 

This prize was presented by Dieneke Ferguson to Alison Coward on behalf of the team, and the prize was champagne and £50.

 

 

 

 

We would like to thank all the awards donors mentioned above for kindly sponsoring the awards and donating prizes: 2pm, Black + Blum, the Design Museum, Heal's and Max Fraser.

 

We would also like to thank all the people who came along to present the awards, and for their continued involvement with Hidden Art: Peter Brimson, Barbara Chandler, Matt Cloves, Max Fraser, Sarah Purvis, Piers Roberts and Tony Simpson.

 

We also raised £100 with a Mis-Shapes Tombola, so thank you to all the members who donated objects, and to Sarah Phillips for her inspired shopping trip to Dalston to pick up some unique Mis-Shapes in the shops there. As some prizes arrived later in the evening, they will be auctioned off to the highest bidder on our very own Hidden Art Ebay!  

 

 

And a final congratulations to all the nominees and the winners! All the winners receive a year's free membership to Hidden Art in addition to their prizes.

 

Pictures from the Awards Ceremony and party will be published shortly along with details of the achievements of all shortlisted nominees.