Featuring the work of six New Designers alumni, the graphics for New Designers 2016 emphasises the exhibiting designers as the most fundamental components of the show. Just like the show itself, the work of these six designers’ spans across the creative disciplines from textiles to typography. In the lead up to this year’s show, we interviewed these six designers as part of a series to share the stories behind their work and the unique journeys their thriving design careers have taken since exhibiting at New Designers.
In this feature we caught up with Cornwall resident and Falmouth University graduate Kai Venus-Demetrio. Kai, whose product design work focuses on sustainability, exhibited at New Designers 2014 and returned as a One Year On exhibitor at last year’s show. Now creating bespoke furniture and a range of other products for his own studio, Kai Venus Designs, Kai shares with us his experience of New Designers, his life as a freelance designer and what sustainability means to him and the work he produces.
How did it feel exhibiting in One Year On compared to being a graduate exhibitor the year before?
The main difference, I would say, is the feeling of achievement and knowing that I have seen out my first year as a self-employed creative and that every faith I’d had in myself was well grounded. The experience of being a graduate exhibitor was invaluable but daunting to say the least. Without any experience in the real world, it felt very much like an exercise in bravado; an exercise well worth undertaking, especially when it results in landing a commission worth several thousands of pounds as my first post-graduate project.
What advice would you give to those preparing to exhibit at New Designers 2016?
My biggest advice to anyone exhibiting at New Designers and New Designers One Year On is very simple: only take work you are proud to put your name to, follow up with your emails and don’t be afraid to say, “Yes, I can do that, no problem”.
You have chosen to stay in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth. Do you find the location integral to your design process?
As a location to work from, I don’t think it gets much better than Cornwall in terms of quality of life. It can feel detached at times, but I feel it is for this reason that Cornwall offers a certain type of approach to life that doesn’t adhere to rules and common formats. This is integral when it comes to creative stimulation and an innovative design process. However, it is primarily the community of makers I’ve found myself in which has become my underpinning source of creative nourishment and support.
How much would you say that sustainability influences your design?
My relationship to sustainability has developed over the last few years; I no longer see it as simply as I did when I graduated. For me, sustainability within design has become as much a matter of social responsibility as an approach to sourcing materials. I strongly believe that what we feed into society and the world at large should be more than objects but tools with which to achieve a sustainable life
How have you found setting up your own studio? Any highlights? Obstacles?
Setting up my own studio has felt very natural to me as I have grown up in a family of artists; I’ve always known the importance of having a dedicated space to be creative. I was very lucky as setting up a workshop is made a lot easier when you’ve been awarded a business start-up grant from your university. I have a lot of people to thank for helping me get to where I am, I doubt very much if I would be as established as I am now if I’d stubbornly persevered alone without taking the advice and help that was offered to me.
Where do your commissions come from? Word of mouth or online presence?
I’d say around 50% of my commissions are generated through word of mouth and the other 50% through exhibitions and craft fairs which connect people to my online presence. I try to exhibit at least three times a year, whether that is at bigger design events such as the ICFF or just local craft fairs. I find exhibiting and selling smaller home wares such as my up-cycled kitchen knives and table-wares alongside my furniture makes my presence at these events much more approachable. People are often not initially looking to commission a piece of furniture but may buy smaller pieces; as a result, they remember me and bare me in mind at a later date.
What are you up to now in your design career? Do you have any exciting plans or projects you’d like to tell us about?
Currently, I am working on a variety of projects which include supplying a hand full of shops and galleries with my home-wares and new furniture, working in collaboration with a design company to create a range of work to sell specifically through their pop-up shops and on-line, and co-designing and fabricating a bespoke timber frame structure on a large barn conversion. My next exciting project, which I hope to start in July, is to develop a new writer’s desk and accompanying chair or stool. I can’t wait to get started.