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Our 2018 highlights

19 December 2018

From coffee kiosks in London's Royal Parks to festivals, snow days, Christmas photo shoots and a special installation for Raymond Blanc at Chelsea Flower Show, 2018 has been one of the best. Here's some of our favourite moments.
reading corner

2018 seems to have disappeared in a flash and what a year it's been! With the new year on the horizon we've been taking the time to slow down and reflect on the achievements of our team and some of our favourite memories.

A trio of our iconic No.1 Pendants featured first on our homepage after launch. 

January, February, March. 

The start of the year saw the launch of our brand new website!

Tom took to the BBC Radio 2 breakfast show with Chris Evans in February to discuss project collaborations and all things steam bent.


The gamekeeper's lodge (the old part of the Grand Designs home) at Nanskerris was hit by snow flurries in March.

March saw two flurries of snow settle over our Cornish valley and caused a fair amount of logistical chaos! Our workshop closed for two whole days whilst we struggled to de-ice the surrounding country lanes! 

green range
The Tom Raffield Green Range: inspired by nature, shaped by steam, curated by you.

April, May, June.

A very busy three months...we launched our collection of Green Range planters in time for their debut at Chelsea Flower Show. We took our steam bent pavilion and spiralling bench to the main avenue of Chelsea Flower Show and won a five-star trade stand award thanks to the help of Darren Hawkes who planted our beautiful garden.

The BBC filmed lunchtime Chelsea coverage from our pavilion which appeared on channel one for millions of viewers to see and we also created a bespoke installation for Raymond Blanc's Jardin Blanc using our No.1 Pendants and Green Range Planters.

Chelsea Flower Show
Our Main Avenue garden won 5 stars at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2018 and attracted lots of famous faces amongst its crowds.
bendy bench
The pavilion and garden was an enthralling, sensory experience for those who wandered amongst its many unfurling steam bent sections, inviting benches, archways and elegant, nature-inspired harmonising twists
bench
We had the honour of being invited to design a unique installation for Raymond Blanc's Jardin Blanc at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
coexistence
Tom Raffield takes over the Coexistence Showroom on Upper Street in Islington.

July, August, September.

July saw a country-wide heatwave and our team enjoyed basking outside in the warm weather and evenings paddle boarding at the beach. We also headed to Port Eliot Festival with a sea of Skipper Pendants that were suspended over diners and dancers alike in one of the large canopy tents. 


We took a unique installation of our best-selling Skipper Pendants to Port Eliot Festival.
modum
Celebrating nature’s formations. Taking inspiration from the organic shapes, movements and sequential patterns that surround us, The Modum Range invites you to put nature back in the spotlight.

In August we launched The Modum Range - a collection of steam bent lighting inspired by complex and intricate formations found in the natural world.

Coinciding with London Design Festival in September, we took over the leading, independent showroom, Coexistence, in the very heart of London to celebrate biophilic design in the workplace and the launch of our exclusive, brand new lighting collections. Tom also joined several events in London for LDF including a panel talk on sustainability at Tala HQ in Hackney which was attended by press and designers alike. 


We filled the Coexistence showroom with a range of our steam bent furniture and lighting products including Arame Wall Lights, Upholstered Crib Benches and our Green Range Hanging Planters.

Quill pendants from our Modum Lighting Range were suspended from a bespoke steam bent tree installation.
planter
We are delighted to have created a bespoke, steam bent wooden planter for Joe Swift, who designed the beautiful Horatio's Garden at the NHS Spinal Centre of Stoke Mandeville Hospital.
noctis range
Bold, ebonised design and our sought-after wooden aesthetic, merged. With confidence in its definitive silhouettes, The Noctis Range showcases a new focus and brings daring, darker depths to interiors.

October, November, December.

In October we launched our third collection of the year: The Noctis Range. We also took an immersive, steam bent wooden pod to the Heal's Festival of Light on Tottenham Court Road  AND our Grand Designs episode had it's second birthday.

Furthermore, we also unveiled a very special bespoke commission (a steam bent planter, above) that we'd been working on for Joe Swift's design for Horatio's Garden, at the NHS Spinal Centre, Stoke Mandeville Hospital.

colicci
The new steam bent coffee kiosks will be built at noteworthy locations including the entrances to Hyde Park, Green Park and St James’s Park.
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The kiosks are designed to enhance the visitor experience, making a refreshment stop at one of the stunning structures an integral part of a journey through the parks.

We announced that the first steam bent wood clad kiosk designed by Mizzi Studio for Colicci had opened in The Royal Parks, Green Park in November - a big project that our installations team have been working on for a considerable length of time.

November also saw the installation of the unique, sculptural reception desk that we designed and handcrafted for Institute of Physics' sustainably designed headquarters in Kings Cross, London. It was also Black Friday... and we put ourselves on the line to spread a very important message about consumerism.

December. We installed two giant bespoke Quill Pendant Christmas Trees in Heal's department store as part of their annual Christmas display. We also shot our own Christmas campaign with the help of our new studio dog, Watson.

chrsitmas photoshoot
Introducing: Watson, our new studio dog.

Here's to a fantastic 2019!

Posted: 19.12.18
Updated: 15.04.21

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