Spotlight on the furniture maker:

Jake Phipps

From his studio in London and workshop in North Yorkshire, award-winning furniture designer, Jake Phipps, creates his collection of unique and highly-engineered luxury, statement furniture. Jake kindly answered our questions about his work and inspiration.

Flux Low Table in the making by Jake Phipps.

Where does your passion for making your items come from?

From school really….I won Inventor of the Year for the South of England when I was 15 with a rather strange automatic plant watering system.  But it started the fire….and it was probably my design peak!

How did your business start? What led you into it?

I graduated from John Makepeace’s school – Parnham College in 1999.  Initially I wanted to gain more experience by working with another cabinetmaker but at my end of year show I sold enough pieces to keep me busy for a year.  So I set up a workshop with three other graduates in East London and have worked for myself ever since.

Where do you draw inspiration from for your designs?

Inspiration should come from anywhere.  I try not to focus on a particular subject unless it is part of a project brief.

What is your favourite part of the making process?

The prototyping…it always leads to interesting new avenues and ideas.

Where do you source your materials?

Mostly from the UK,  but for precision components it is usually Germany.

 What do you love about working in the UK and any thoughts on British design?

I love how cosmopolitan the design language is.  It is certainly never dull and I find it very inspiring to see the variety in creativity.

Do you have any particular design heroes or other makers your work has been influenced by?

Anthony Cragg, Anish Kapoor,  Wendell Castle, and Ron Arad.

Any upcoming projects/ pieces you’re working on that you’d like to tell us about?

An egg-shaped cabinet with a unique opening mechanism. Entitled – Cocoon!

SHOP JAKE PHIPPS’ PIECES: