The evolution of Splinterworks
The Meet the Maker series, part of the Made in Bath podcast, talks to creatives and innovators about what they make, how they make it, and what part creativity, craftsmanship and collaboration plays in the process.
As the Meet the Maker website says, ‘There’s two sides to Bath’s story. Famously it’s a city known for its history: hot springs, Roman heritage, Georgian architecture and Jane Austen. But that’s only half of it. Bubbling under the surface, there’s another world at work; a culture of creativity and craftsmanship, of movers and makers. And we’re here to reveal them.’
In his interview, Miles discusses how Splinterworks has evolved in its 12 year history, starting with sculptural kitchens in high-end homes, to diversifying into smaller furniture design, and then onto greater experimental designs such as the hammock bath and sculptural pool slides.
‘The short answer? Functional sculptural is what we do’, says Miles.
Miles talks about the importance of simplicity in Splinterworks’ designs – or at least, that is how it should appear. The truth, especially with the pool slide designs, is that there is a huge amount of engineering, hidden away inside the slide itself.
‘This is key to Splinterworks’ designs; sculptural pieces, beautiful simplicity, but there is a lot going on behind the scenes!’
And what of getting these designs to the production stage? Such experimental designs can often require a good deal of trial and error, even through to prototype stage, says Miles.
‘Things may fail, but we have to take some risks. If you’re trying to do new and innovative things you have to be prepared for a bit of failure.’
And where next for Splinterworks?
As a small but growing team, with a number of Splinterworks projects going on around the world on any one day, Miles notes the pleasure of being back in the office again.
The business is evolving as the world changes, he feels, with Splinterworks venturing into new materials, improving efficiencies in shipping, working with more charities and supporting issues that Miles and Matt care about personally.
Ultimately, Splinterworks will still be about taking time to design and design well, to not be led by trends, and about making things that last for generations.
As Bob concludes; ‘Make it beautiful, make it well.’
Listen to the full podcast