DESIGN
STORIES
RAFFE BURRELL FOUNDED HIS STUDIO TO PURSUE
HIS PASSION FOR CREATING THE EXCEPTIONAL
THROUGH DESIGN. WORKING WITH A NETWORK
OF HIGHLY SKILLED ARTISANS, RAFFE ACHIEVES
THIS HIGH STANDARD ACROSS THE HIGH-END
RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL PROJECTS HE IS
COMMISSIONED TO WORK ON. HAVING HONED HIS
SKILLS AT SUCH PRESTIGIOUS STUDIOS AS PAUL
COCKSEDGE, FREDRIKSEN STALLARD AND EVA MENZ,
RAFFE NOW WORKS IN THE UK AND GLOBALLY WITH
AN EVER-INCREASING SCALE OF PROJECT.TELL US ABOUT THE DESIGN
BACKGROUND OF YOUR STUDIO.
The studio was formed four years ago to create
luxury design projects under my own ethos and
aesthetic. My background spans luxury design
from installations, furniture to lighting sculptures;
I felt it was time to begin my own journey of
investigations. The studio represents a focus
on bringing unique designs to life. We are open
to exploring materials and work across lighting
installations and sculpture.
HOW DO YOU AIM TO BRING
INNOVATION TO THE INDUSTRY?
I feel it is in the DNA of the practice. The majority
of projects are bespoke, so each project allows us
to innovate, with the findings being brought back
to the studio to inform future works.
DO YOU WORK GLOBALLY AND IF
SO, HOW DO YOU MANAGE THIS?
We do work globally and enjoy doing so. We
work in the same manner as our local projects by
maintaining control from beginning to end. The
workshops we partner with for manufacturing are
predominately in London, so production is closely
managed, but we also install all works ourselves
regardless of location.
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE
FOR YOU AS A DESIGNER IN THE INDUSTRY?
My biggest challenge working on bespoke
designs is dealing with confidentiality as many
clients prefer to not have their homes featured
online. It is therefore hard to build up references
to attract new clients. To counter this I am working
on self-initiated creations stemming from
past projects.WHAT DOES YOUR STUDIO ASPIRE
TO LOOK LIKE IN 20 YEARS TIME?
I’m looking forward to seeing this myself! I aspire
to be working across a wider field of design and
seeing what influence technology may have on
my work. A goal of mine is to have a workshop
and gallery in-house.WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST
SUCCESSFUL MILESTONE TO DATE?
Winning the Swarovski Designer of the Future
Award 2019.CONGRATULATIONS ON THE AWARD! WHAT
DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU AS AN ARTIST?
Thank you very much! It is difficult putting into
words what it means as for some time it was one
of those “pinch me” moments and I didn’t quitebelieve it. Surely enough however, with the reality
of being invited to visit the Swarovski HQ (the
Archives and the new Manufaktur) earlier this year
it has settled in and has been an incredible, very
insightful, opportunity to look into the opulent
world of Swarovski.WHAT’S NEXT FOR RAFFE BURRELL IN 2019?
A few unique lighting projects for some incredible
private homes. My focus is on the creation of
something that stands out as you enter the
room. In addition I plan on expanding my capsule
collection of products such as the ‘Rock’ table light
and ‘Hematite’ coffee table.http://www.raffeburrell.comDesign Stories