Project
Usefulness in Small Things
Client
Rizzoli, USA
Production
2011 -
Usefulness in Small Things provides delightful insights to the various mass-produced objects that comprise our daily lives. Sam Hecht personally collected the items from small local shops from his travels to countries including the USA, Japan, Jordan and Thailand, and are part of his Under a Fiver Collection edited from the last twenty years. Common items such as nails, plugs, toothbrushes, soap, and gloves have a function and a regional purpose, with some succeeding and others failing to fulfil their own promise.
The book is designed by Graphic Thought Facility, with specially commissioned photographs by photographer Angela Moore. The collection strives to highlight that ingenuity can be found in unexpected places and exposes what is not always apparent at first glance.
Written introduction by PaulSmith.
Exhibitions
Usefulness in Small Things, Paul Smith, Milan, 2011
Films
RETAIL FACILITY Usefulness in Small Things
Further Reading
International Sales
Project
Flower Pot Stand
Client
SZ Magazine, Germany
Production
2012 (not in production)
For the second edition of international DIY projects, commissioned by German national magazine SZ, Industrial Facility designed an elevated flower pot using affordable and locally available parts. Three garden stakes use the constrained tension between a terracotta flower pot and its base to keep the plant up. One stake is left longer as a place to attach a plant label. The stand can be used indoors and for outdoors, the terracotta base can be eliminated by pushing the stakes into a grass lawn.
The design raises the familiar flower pot from its negligible existence on the ground, to a more graceful eye height without requiring alteration to the parts themselves.
Downloads
Further Reading
Project
Plinth
Client
Established & Sons / V&A Museum
Production
2012
Plinths I and II are made from Corian, a performance material usually associated with counter tops due to its durability, non-porosity and seamlessness. In this example the design uses the V&A museum courtyard as the context for the bench, rather than shaping material merely to make an isolated piece for visual interest. The two Plinths share the same design, but are of different heights and lengths; when placed together they create an opportunity for people to complete the sculpture.
Exhibitions
Bench Years, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2012
Interieur, Kortrijk, Belgium, 2011
Films
Project
V Tent
Client
Louis Vuitton
Production
2012
Originally developed for the Wallpaper Handmade project, the V Tent is a collaboration with Louis Vuitton whose origins were in the service of travel. In fact, in its early history Louis Vuitton provided tents for explorers with function and quality as prerequisites for their success. For this commission, Industrial Facility revisited the Tent by referencing early Viking tents, and early Louis Vuitton bags. Both shared simple fabric constructions with the tents often involving a roof attached to the entrance. With the V Tent, the entrance is on the long side that can be lifted up to extend shelter – supported by a wooden pole. The result is a traditional construction, but with small alterations and details that re-interpret the Tent typology.
Project
Cycle Shirt
Client
Margaret Howell, London
Production
2010 -
Cycle Shirt is a collaboration between clothing designer Margaret Howell and Industrial Facility.
The designers share a similar approach to design, paring away the inessential to find the purely useful, and shaping it with character through detail. Margaret Howell says 'Shirts are like people, a simple basic form, but with infinite variations of detail that make individuality. The life of a piece of clothing starts with its purpose, and its character lies in the details.'
The intention was clear from the start, that the shirt should reflect the busy and urban experiences of Sam Hecht, who spends most of his time on two wheels. The idea to create back pockets came up after investigating historic cycle racing jerseys which had a pocket for maps. This idea was translated into tailoring, turning up the tail of a classic shirt to create a divided pocket. The outcome was a pale blue cotton shirt, pre-washed, with minimal front detailing. An extra pocket on the left sleeve holds a travel card.
Exhibitions
Margaret Howell plus Sam Hecht, A Cycle Shirt, Margaret Howell, London, 2011
Films
Sam Hecht in interview with Disegno Magazine
Further Reading
