WORDS: BETHAN RYDER
AUGUST 2019 ELLEDECORATION.CO.UK 49TRENDS‘Sorry for the delay in replying. We’re in the woods this afternoon
with unreliable signal,’ Brogan Cox emails. Tracking down Brogan,
partner of Sebastian Cox and co-director of the eco-friendly design
brand, is not easy – there’s the outdoor coppicing to do and newborn
daughter Sorrel to care for – but she can always find time to talk
about her other baby: the new ‘Barker’ furniture collection.
‘It’s so nice to do a project of my own, and with
my name on it,’ says Brogan of the range which
takes her maiden name. It began with the small
green ‘Emerald’ table that debuted at Decorex
last year, and now ‘Barker’ exists as a four-strong
collection of bright, simple wooden pieces. ‘We’ve
done some pop-up shops and I had noticed
something glaringly obvious: we don’t have
colour,’ she adds. ‘Green felt like a good place to
start. I suppose it’s a reaction to Seb’s work; clean and blocky and
colourful. I had to add more pieces,’ she says.
Until now, the pair have created almost everything together,
although Brogan leads the interior design projects, and limited-
edition gallery pieces are solely Sebastian’s work. They met at the
University of Lincoln when studying a design Masters. Sebastianfinished the course, but Brogan didn’t, heading instead to London
to work in advertising. She joined Sebastian’s business in 2012,
learning on the job. ‘Composition and shape is what I really enjoy
and that’s what I bring to the workshop,’ she says.
For ‘Barker’, that approach was stripped back to basics; the
concept behind each piece was to choose one shape, one joint and
one colour. ‘They began like children’s scribbles,’
explains Brogan – ‘a green circle, a strange blue
oblong, a red square and yellow rectangle.’
Crafted from sustainable English ash, all of the
designs celebrate construction, with the joints
evident and the wood’s grain showing through
the water-based dyes. Inspired by medieval
colour pigments (from which the pieces take
their names), these are applied by hand.
Creating the collection has given Brogan a taste for branching
out – the studio recently produced ceramic tableware and more
plans are forming. ‘I would love to do tiles and wallpaper,’ she says.
‘We really try to put nature into people’s home and connect with
raw materials. I’d love to introduce some wild and messy pattern
next.’ From £1,850 for an occasional table (sebastiancox.co.uk).THE FURNITURE LAUNCH‘BARKER’ BY BROGAN COX
Sebastian Cox’s partner steps into the spotlight, with this season’s most colourful and covetable range‘IT’S SO NICE TO
DO A PROJECT
OF MY OWN,
AND WITH MY
NAME ON IT’