JJAM

For SHELTER, Shell has created a collection of individually upholstered giant building blocks and asks visitors to build their own Shelter. The 35 tetris-shaped building blocks can be laid-out or stacked high with the form, structure and element of privacy of each shelter determined by the builders themselves – an opportunity no self-respecting child of the 80’s could pass-up.

Show Photos of Shell Thomas’ work at Tent London 2011.

Shell Thomas demonstrates the possibilities of her Shelter

The first block of many!

Shell Thomas is an Australian designer based in London. She graduated in 2010 with a degree in Furniture Design, from London Metropolitan University. Her work spans product design, development and manufacture, and design for retail, taking-in interiors and 3D structural displays for bespoke visual merchandising, point of sale and free standing display units.

Her rocking horse Reggie the Eco Rocker, which we spotted at Tent 2010, was awarded the Product Innovation Award at the Not On The High Street Make Awards in 2011.

For Shelter, Tortie Hoare has been inspired by Bute’s past and built a textile representation of the Anderson air raid shelter. (Bute was set up to create jobs for the returning soldiers from World War II). Following the logic that it was likely that any Anderson shelters still standing were probably being used a storage sheds, Tortie’s shelter aims to get visitors thinking about different types of storage as well as a more social focus based on the way we treat our possessions. She has even incorporated a series of ingenious 1940s games to play…with prizes to be won!

Tortie Hoare’s Shelter at Tent London 2011.

Tortie at work on her 2011 textile Anderson shelter

Tortie Hoare graduated last year to much acclaim with her boiled leather furniture  capsule collection winning New Designer of the year at UK graduate exhibition New Designers.

Tortie’s design practice develops and evolves as she continues to experiment with this medieval craft technique, finding innovative ways to combine the traditional with the new and contemporary.

A selection of works from Tortie’s first collection

Website launch.  More to follow soon!