From tree to shelf

My initial idea was to design a cabinet for a particular tree in the forest, and then to find a way of bringing this into the library, with the imprint of the tree on it. A good starting point; but I also wanted something that responded to the library itself, not just refer to the forest outside. I have always found that ideas can take you so far, but then you enter the world of making, and that has its own process. So now I am working with the designer-makers at Miller Howard Workshop to transform these initial ideas into realistic designs that can be laser-cut by Woodford Engineering in Lydney. For me, working collaboratively in this way is exciting, and together we are exploring ways of attaching to library selves (or even to the books themselves) somewhat akin to the way the fungi attach to tree trunks. For this…