Dezeen Magazine

WOOD by Ten

Design collective Ten will present a collection of sustainable, wooden products at 100% Design in London next week.

The collection includes a framed bird-feeder by Nina Tolstrup (above), a table lamp by Tomoko Azumi and a candlestick by Stephen Bretland (below).

Led by Chris Jackson, Ten is a group of designers who collaborate each year to present sustainable projects at 100% Design.

Sam Johnson's dumper-truck toy (top) incorporates a standard plastic box, which remains useful once the toy has been out-grown, while Gitta Gschwendtner combines a toy car and door-wedge (below).

The products will be available from retailer twentytwentyone. Below: desk tidy by Chris Jackson.

The following information is from Ten:

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Crafts Council working with TEN to present WOOD at 100% Design

The Crafts Council in collaboration with TEN and twentytwentyone present WOOD: an exhibition launching at 100% Design from 18-21 September 2008 at Earls Court, London.

TEN returns to 100% Design for a third successive year with WOOD, a new project on sustainable and ethical design. TEN has worked with design retailer twentytwentyone to produce a range of sustainable wooden products for the home or garden.

Following its showing at 100% Design, the Crafts Council is supporting a national tour of the exhibition, enabling more people to see how sustainable design can still be beautiful. Above and below: door wedges and coat hooks by Carl Clerkin.

TEN is a group of ten designers who are united through the shared vision of Chris Jackson. They collaborate once a year to create products that reflect the TEN ethos; that is, to take a responsible approach to design that offers a timely antidote to society’s high levels of consumption and throw-away culture. TEN is:

  • Tomoko Azumi
  • Stephen Bretland
  • Carl Clerkin
  • Gitta Gschwendtner
  • Chris Jackson
  • Sam Johnson
  • Michael Marriott
  • Hector Serrano
  • Onkar Singh Kular
  • Nina Tolstrup

In 2008 TEN wanted to produce something real, affordable and accessible in order to move their vision from a conceptual framework, as shown in 10 TEN X in 2006 and TEN AGAIN in 2007, to reality. The result is WOOD. Below: hook by Michael Marriott

Nina Tolstrup has created a 'frame' bird feeder that responds to the rarity of spotting the wildlife with which we co-exist in urban areas. The idea for the bird feeder was to create a product which encourages interaction and serves to capture a fleeting moment by framing it. Below: door hanger by Hector Serrano.

Sam Johnson’s toy dumper truck uses a standard plastic racking box as its container on the back, meaning that the colour can be changed and it also continues to have a life once the toy has been outgrown.

Gitta Gschwendtner created a toy to be enjoyed by adults and children in order to give the product a greater life span. The car playfully hints at having ended up wedged underneath a door accidentally, telling a story beyond pure function.

TEN’s first project, 10 TEN X, in 2006, illustrated their view on the subject of sustainability within London. Working within 10km radius of their studio, with a budget of ten pounds, twentytwentyone said of the resulting products, “creative concepts, responsible perspectives and a tremendous dose of humanity”. 10 TEN X won a Blueprint/100% Design awards for ‘Best Contribution’. TEN’s second project, TEN AGAIN, in 2007, continued with the theme of sustainability.