manifested in a seashell
is much more attractive
than in a banana skin!How do you go about
sourcing sustainable
materials?
We usually start by identifying
a by-product of another
industry or activity that
would otherwise be discarded
as waste, or by finding a
fast-growing and abundant
material. Then we identify
and assess our source(s) to
ensure they meet our standards
for both environmental
and social welfare.
Our mussel and abalone
shells come from community-
based farms in South Africa
(where they are discarded
when the animals are canned);
our eggshells from farms andhatcheries; sea urchin spines
from local fishermen; tobacco
leaves as the sub-standard (for
smoking!) plantation produce.
We are currently working
with one of the world’s oldest
conservation agencies to
identify communities where it
has active projects, as we aim to
create a virtuous circle where
conservation efforts result
in tangible financial gains.wHat’s tHe most delicate/
fragile material tHe
company Had to work
witH so far?
Feathers - our latest
development! My daughter, like
most kids, was fascinated by
them and would pick them up
wherever she found them. So
I had been staring at a motley
collection for a couple of years.
I found their delicacy and
subtlety sublimely beautiful
but couldn’t think of a way to
work with them that would
meet our sustainability and
traceability criteria. I felt very
strongly that they needed to
be from birds that were eaten,
but almost all such birds are
mechanically plucked. On the
other hand, picking up moult
feathers would not provide
the quantities we would
practically need. Thankfully,
I discovered to my delight
that my friends, Christina“All this is reflected in
the quAlity levels in
whAt is visible, As well
As in the high technicAlcontent thAt is invisible.”
Tooley of Chevron Hackles
and Andy Gray of specialist
game butchers MC Kelly,
were able to supply me with
feathers. Both embraced the
idea of hand-plucking pheasant
feathers from local sources,
before the meat went into the
food chain. The feathers were
otherwise destined for landfill.
Once we had the feathers
sourced, I also wanted a way
to preserve their colour and
texture. And our first project
with feathers, with Rolls-Royce
Motor Cars, provided the
perfect opportunity. We created
the spectacular dashboard for
its new Phantom in 2018 with
a mesh of woven feathers.wHat is tHe main
difficulty witH training
skilled craftsmen today?
The challenges of working with
natural materials are myriad.
Nothing is ever the same. So
from a design perspective,
it needs careful curation to
ensure a harmonious whole.
This is what distinguishes
craftsmanship from
handicraft. We are all familiar
with charming but somewhat
clumsy souvenir-quality
products made from natural
materials. Even our most
rustic products contain an
unsuspected level of selection
and editing. So we need a
superlative level of skill and
judgment in our craftsmen.
We have no peers at
our quality level, hence all
our training is undertaken
in-house. We control our
production process from A
to Z: We own our production
facilities and have over
150 master craftspeople,
supported by draftsmen,
engineers, project managers,
CGI capability, all fully6