Former Made in Chelsea star Jessica Anne Woodley has unveiled her first furniture collection called The Eternal Child, filled with “instinctive, a little wonky” pieces.
Although best known for her appearances on the British reality TV show, Woodley moved into design in 2020 when she established her studio Gliffy, embarking on a “quest of self-reflection” through creativity.
The Eternal Child is the studio’s inaugural furniture collection, featuring a selection of chubby stools, coffee tables, mirrors and bookshelves, as well as a small abstract figurine.
Each design is characterised by wobbly forms to make them look as if they are swaying in the wind.
“The pieces are instinctive, a little wonky and playful,” said Woodley, who was informed by the shapes of the ancient geoglyphs of Nazca, etched into the soil in southern Peru.
“I love using curves as they soften things and are my response to the seriousness around us,” she told Dezeen.
Woodley fabricated most of the designs in fibreglass and a few in Italian marble sourced from Carrara, which she described as “an absolutely breathtaking medium”.
Among the plastic pieces is the towering Rock-like Bookcase with a bright matte white finish and the low-slung Chunky Coffee Table in lacquered “traffic orange”.
The stone furniture includes the squat Marble Chunky Stool and loosely heart-shaped Marble Chunky Mirror, both made from smooth, veiny white-and-grey Carrara.
After sketching initial ideas, Woodley used 3D sculpting software to design the furniture before 3D printing maquettes. All of the pieces were then precision-milled with a machine and finished by hand to create their swollen forms.
“There’s something deeply satisfying about working with my hands – the tactile connection, the rhythm of it,” said Woodley.
“The finishing process was time-consuming and full of trial and error, but I loved every moment of getting lost in it.”
The designer explained that while she spent two years attempting to create the collection using recycled waste, she did not come to a feasible solution.
“Fibreglass offered the strength and bold, vibrant finish I wanted to bring my vision to life, while giving me the momentum to keep evolving,” said Woodley.
“Looking ahead, I’m excited to invest in natural materials and continue experimenting with new possibilities,” she added. “I hope people find this collection disarming and simple.”
Designers are currently displaying a healthy appetite for particularly tactile furniture.
Other recent collections have featured pieces ranging from chunky construction waste seats by Sara Regal, constructed in cake-style layers, and an ultra-glossy “almost edible” furniture series designed to look like oversized cubes of Jello.
The photography is courtesy of Jessica Anne Woodley.
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