Designer and Joined + Jointed founder Samuel Chan answered some questions about his business, design education and inspiration.
Tell us the story behind you and your business. How did you become interested in design?
As a schoolboy I loved woodworking. The master who taught me – Mr Knock – didn’t just teach me the techniques, he was a great mentor. He really encouraged me in the school workshop and eventually to pursue furniture design as a next step.
Where did you study and what was the most useful thing you learnt from / best things about your course?
I had quite a long training. After school, I did a diploma at the London College of Furniture (now The Cass). Then a degree in 3D Design at Middlesex University, where many of my fellow students came from an arts background. The emphasis on concepts and design development provided a good combination with the grounding I’d had in furniture construction. Both aspects – design and production – were consolidated by the Masters I did at Buckinghamshire.
What inspired you to start your business?
The path of my design education made me interested in every part of the furniture-making process, and it’s that comprehensive approach – from design through production to selling – that I wanted to embrace first in Channels, and then in Joined + Jointed. Most designers sell their designs to a manufacturer who then sells through a distributor, and the production and marketing are more or less out of the designer’s hands. I wanted to try to steer the whole process – from the drawing board, through the workshop and all the way to my own shop floor.
Give us an insight into your thought process to design your work – where does your inspiration come from?
Mostly through unexpected sights, conversations and encounters. For example, the front elevation of my ‘Kerning’ bookcase design was inspired by a building I spotted while standing on a station platform. My ‘Motley’ cedar drums came into being after I met a guy reclaiming cedar offcuts. I note and draw these things in my sketchbook and some of them turn into a furniture concept. But a huge part of the thought process is self-discipline. Regardless of the amount of inspiration I feel I’ve had, I’m strict about producing a new collection every September.
Are there any techniques or materials being used by this year’s OYO’s you’re particularly interested in?
It’s all about the wood for me! I won’t name names but if you’re making wood furniture, I’ll hope to take a look at what you’re doing.
How do you see the role of design in responding to current social issues? Do you have any interesting examples?
I can only speak for the small area of design that I work in. For me, the best way of encouraging sustainability in furniture is to make pieces that people won’t want to throw away. If a piece of furniture has come into being through considered design, if it’s been made carefully with great skill, then the user develops an emotion towards it that will affect the way they use it and they’ll want to pass it on to their children. The attachment is deeper if the user commissions a one-off piece of furniture, which is why I’ve always maintained the bespoke aspect of my business. It’s more economical in the long run, and much more satisfying than buying a cheaper alternative and keeping it for a short time.
What piece of advice would you give to this year’s graduates?
Be true to yourself. Be prepared to take advice.