Studio Visit: Committee

Creative satisfaction comes when “two objects that never knew they were meant to be together find each other,” says Clare Page, who alongside Harry Richardson forms the London-based design duo Committee. Working from their studio in Deptford, photographed today for NOWNESS by Phillip Sinden, Page and Richardson repurpose junk and unwanted items––often found in local market stalls and skips––to dream up provocative objects that intriguingly straddle the line between art and design, challenging the preconceived notions of each discipline. The Kebab Lamp, first shown in 2003, is a case in point, composed from various found objects skewered onto a lamp stand to become a miscellany of texture and form. More recent works include the Lost Twin Ornaments (experimental sculptures in which two incongruous items are joined with computer-designed abstract forms) and the teetering, found-object gateway they produced in eight hours for Established & Sons' Design Against the Clock event at London Design Week. Their method of working may appear haphazard, but it’s the product of what Committee call “little logics.” Their studio overflows with vintage crockery, plastic and ornamental knick-knacks, yet every item's characteristics, purpose and position is carefully considered, says Sinden, who worked with the designers to set up a series of incidental still-lifes for the shoot. “The most intriguing thing was the way they worked,” he explains. Even getting them to place those objects took about 45 minutes because they discuss everything.” 

Learn more about the beauty of plastic ephemera—Harry Richardson takes us through his favorite finds here.