Award-winning Loughborough University graduate and Studio resident Hugh Leader-Williams’ stylish and practical collection is now available to buy at MADE.COM.

The Spun Collection – developed as part of Hugh’s final degree project – comprises a trio of tables and set of stools crafted from powdered spun steel and natural ash.

Chloe Macintosh, MADE.COM Co-Founder and Creative Director, said of Spun: “The genius of the design is the very clever interlocking wooden frame and magnetically connected spun metal seat – we felt it has a real Campaign aesthetic. Our customers are increasingly conscious of space and so providing a product that looks great but can be stored easily, is an important combination for us.”

Indeed the range was designed with three key principles in mind – ease of production; commercial viability; and an understated, elegant design that can easily be folded away for storage. 

Spun has been highly commended on all three counts, and Hugh has received widespread critical acclaim, featuring amongst the most promising young designers in publications as diverse as The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times, and The Observer; DAMn°, Icon, Homes and Antiques, and Wallpaper* magazines; and online design publication Despoke.

In addition, his work collected three prestigious awards at New Designers 2012 – The 100% Design Award, The Made.com Award, and The BCFA Lugo Award – and was shortlisted for Homes and Gardens magazine’s Young Designer of the Year Award.

“It has been a fantastic year,” Hugh admits. “It started with the New Designer 2012 Awards which was amazing and opened so many doors for me, including licensing Spun to MADE.COM. Seeing Spun go into commercial production has been incredibly exciting. It has given me the confidence to set up my own design studio, and work on a new range of furniture and home furnishings.”

Hugh’s beautifully simple products reflect his passion for traditional materials and keen interest in manufacturing processes and techniques.

His beautiful imprint bowls literally bear the marks of their production to gorgeous decorative effect. Hugh’s fascination with metal spinning led him to experiment with various methods of adding texture to the inside of his spun vessels. He settled on attractively grained oak and ash forms to fashion the bowls, resulting in a collection of unique and striking pieces.

Meanwhile, his 18/34 lamps – named for the 18x34mm rectangle of ash used in their construction – exemplify these interests, and offer chic minimalist lighting solutions. Hugh plans to launch the lamps on Kickstarter very soon.

Professor Steve Rothberg, Loughborough University’s Pro Vice-Chancellor for Enterprise, is full of praise: “Hugh’s success is an inspiration to young designers everywhere. We are delighted to be able to support him – via the Studio – as he launches what looks like being a hugely successful career.”

Visit Hugh’s website to find out more about his work.

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