A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Charlotte Kingsnorth studied for her masters in Design Products under Tord Boontje. Kingsnorth now has a London-based studio where she “melds together functionality with a personal exploration into materiality, form and the subversive.”

1. Slashed by Charlotte Kingsnorth

Charlotte Kingsnorth produces limited-edition and commissioned furniture and objects. She operates on the borderline between artist and designer—in a liminal space where she can play with conceptual ideas about form and material, as is the case with Slashed. This foam sofa explores how an object transforms “once its surface is broken and tension released.”

2. My Big Fat Sofa by Charlotte Kingsnorth

My Big Fat Sofa, an adaptation of Kingsnorth’s AtOne Sofa, continues her research into anthropomorphized furniture. Seeming to have a life of its own, My Big Fat Sofa features two materials, hard and soft. The soft material subsumes the hard, as if devouring the frame.

3. Babafelt by Charlotte Kingsnorth

Babafelt, developed from the FeltUp Chair, combines thick wool felt and rich walnut timber. Using a felt sheet, Kingsnorth folds the material “to make a cocoon-like space in which to sit.” Since felt is a natural noise insulator, Babafelt also envelops the user in a quiet space.

4. Lichen Table by Charlotte Kingsnorth

Composed of three small tables that “fit together like a rock formation,” Lichen Table takes Kingsnorth’s material exploration to another level by using live fungi. The table is treated with special applications of patinas and chemical compounds, which gives the surface the appearance of being truly alive, as if it’s in the process of morphing or blooming. The mushroom-like legs, cast from pigmented jesmonite, emphasize the organic nature of the piece.

5. Thrilly Lamp by Charlotte Kingsnorth

Kingsnorth’s smaller objects also investigate the possibilities of form. Thrilly Lamp, for example, has a built-in dimmer controlled by manual manipulation: “When the weight is pulled down the silk shade gathers and scrunches, which dims and softens the light.”

6. Stitched Urn by Charlotte Kingsnorth

Much like My Big Fat Sofa, Stitched Urn presents a material paradox. Here, the decorative vase appears to be made of a soft impractical material when in fact it’s ceramic. The process of slip casting, along with a velvet underglaze, gives the urn its false softness. The Stitched Urn is a beautiful sleight of hand, as if a cloaked magician had pulled it out of a top hat.

For more information, visit Charlotte Kingsnorth.