Stay ConnectedIn Material Matters, host Grant Gibson talks to a designer, maker, artist, architect, engineer, or scientist about a material or technique with which they’re intrinsically linked and discovers how it changed their lives and careers.
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Corin Mellor is the creative director of David Mellor Design – a brand that is synonymous with his father, David, but also the design and manufacture of beautiful cutlery, primarily made of stainless steel.
According to Sir Terence Conran, David was ‘Britain’s most serious, modest and greatest post-war product designer’, who created everything from bins to bus stops before concentrating on cutlery.
Corin took over the company in 2006, expanding the company’s range and material palette, as well as creating some delightful knives, forks and spoons himself.
In this episode we talk about: the extraordinary David Mellor campus outside Sheffield; his family’s relationship with architects Michael and Patty Hopkins; living next door to the Mellor factory; why the production of cutlery has barely changed since the turn of the twentieth century; being obsessed with control and sweating the small stuff; the properties of stainless steel and the importance of chromium; how knives are different; the changing face of Sheffield and finding the right skills in the city; being the custodian of his father’s legacy and growing up with his brilliant writer mother; not being good at school; the joy of finding new makers; and why he can’t design cushions.
For more information on Assemble with Material Matters go to: https://materialmatters.design/conference
And to purchase tickets go to: https://app.pairsoftware.io/material-matters/ou3085wj
Nicola Turner is a UK-based artist who is best known for her use of horsehair and wool in her extraordinary, and often quite dark, sculptures. She originally trained as a theatre designer – working for the likes of the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, and the Sydney Opera House – before doing a Fine Art MA in her fifties.
Since then, her work has featured in a string of locations – most notably, the Courtyard at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2024. Currently, she has an installation at the chapel of the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, as well as an upcoming exhibition at Annely Juda Fine Art in London’s Hanover Square.
In this episode, we talk about: discovering horsehair in a skip; naming her YSP show after a Shakespeare sonnet; her interest in death; her cancer diagnosis; visiting an abattoir as a student; her mother’s background in upholstery; creating site responsive pieces and using her intuition; how people respond to her work; moving from theatre design into fine art; opening her own studio in Bath, making clothes as a child; why she still writes to her school art teacher; and not being afraid to work at scale.
Dublin-based architect John Tuomey first appeared on Material Matters in 2024 to talk about his brilliant memoir, First Quarter. Now he’s written the follow-up, unsurprisingly entitled, Middle Quarter.
John is the co-founder of O’Donnell + Tuomey. He was the inaugural professor of Architectural Design at University College Dublin and visiting professor at Princeton, Harvard and Yale. Over the years, he has won numerous awards, including the RIBA Royal Gold Medal, and his practice is responsible for buildings such as V&A East, the Lyric Theatre Belfast, and the Glucksman Gallery in Cork.
In this episode, he talks about: this year’s opening of V&A East; material as ‘tangible reality’ in architecture; why he wrote his new book (and why it isn’t a biography); being interested in mortality and melancholy; architecture and ‘endurance’; his relationship with his mother (and her friendship with actor Richard Harris); the purpose of poetry and the purpose of architecture; creating buildings with lasting value; being ‘lucky’ and working the way he wants; failure; the importance of music in his life; architecture as an ‘occasional art’; his inner drive; being drawn to the scared; oh... and telling Michael Graves to ‘fuck off’.
You can buy the beautiful Middle Quarter here: https://shop.materialmatters.design/products/middle-quarter
What if the materials a building needs are already sitting in a skip down the road?
Joel de Mowbray, founding director of Yes Make, joins Grant Gibson to explain how a regenerative design and build practice rescues high-quality construction materials from landfill — and builds a viable business around them. Earlier this year, Yes Make joined forces with interdisciplinary design collective Resolve Collective and architecture practice Material Cultures to launch Tipping Point East, a circular construction hub in east London that aims to divert tonnes of material from waste.
In this episode, we dive into the practical realities of reuse in construction. We discuss:
Joel also reflects on living on a former Dunkirk 'little ship', moving from Lambeth Council to start Yes Make, being a 'lost boy' growing up, why bike mechanics saved him, and how learning from — and working with — his father shapes the projects he takes on.
And remember, Material Matters London runs from 15-17 September at UNLOCKED Shoreditch. It's free for trade but you must register in advance. You can find more information here: materialmatters.design/The-Fair
New to the podcast? Head to materialmatters.design/podcast for our playlists — including 'Start Here', 'Design Icons' and our Material Focus collections on clay, timber, fibre and biomaterials.
Explore more: Visit materialmatters.design for more on our fairs and conferences.
Welcome to another summer bonus episode of Material Matters with Grant Gibson, this time in association with Hyosung TNC.
In this special episode, Grant talks to the South Korean company’s marketing and sustainability director, Simon Whitmarsh-Knight, about an intriguing new material the company is spending nearly $1bn to develop – a bio-based elastane (or spandex) that has the potential to revolutionise the clothing market.
In this episode they discuss: the history of elastane and its ubiquity in the fashion industry; issues around the material and carbon emissions; how Hyosung TNC is looking to different solutions to reduce carbon; why the company is spending $1bn on an elastane made from sugar cane; building a new fully integrated production system in Vietnam; the importance of infrastructure and collaboration within the fashion world; traceability; how the new product performs and what other environments it could be used in; and the future of bio-based products.
This episode has been sponsored by Hyosung TNC. For more information go to: https://www.hyosungtextile.com/en
Can algae reshape a global beauty brand's material future? In this special summer bonus episode — recorded live at Aesop's Copenhagen store during 3daysofdesign — Grant Gibson is joined by Rebecca Lawson, Aesop's head of sustainability, and multi-award-winning artist and designer Jessie French, founder of Melbourne-based studio Other Matter.
In this episode, we dive into the collaboration between a heritage skincare brand and a pioneer of algae-derived polymers. We discuss:
Rebecca and Jessie also reflect on why the two forces joined up in the first place, and where their partnership could go next.
Explore more: Visit materialmatters.design for more on our fairs and conferences.
This episode has been sponsored by Aesop.
Can a $21 window help a nation survive a war? Harry Blakiston Houston, founder of Insulate Ukraine, joins Grant Gibson for this landmark 150th episode to discuss how a simple double-layer window — made from PET and manufactured entirely in Ukraine — is helping families stay warm, creating local employment, and offering a sense of normality in a country shattered by Russia's invasion. In this episode, we dive into what 'material intelligence' looks like when designing under the most extreme constraints.
We discuss:
Harry also reflects on day-to-day life in a war-torn country, working with whatever materials people had to hand, growing up in Northern Ireland, how Catholicism and boarding school shaped his thinking, and why he wants to rethink the development sector altogether.
Find out more and donate at insulate-ukraine.org.
Explore more: Visit materialmatters.design for more on our fairs and conferences.
Can imperfection reshape modern industry? Hella Jongerius — one of the most influential designers of her generation, and one of the field's sharpest critical voices — joins Grant Gibson to discuss craft, colour, and her enduring fascination with the messy edges of mass production.
In this episode, we dive into the politics of materials and the discipline of long-term collaboration. We discuss:
Hella also reflects on her major retrospective at the Vitra Design Museum, running studios across the Netherlands and Germany, her fascination with animals, and exploring her spiritual side.
Explore more: Visit materialmatters.design for more on our fairs and conferences.
Can a needle and thread mend more than fabric? Ceramic artist Leah Jensen joins Grant Gibson to discuss the radical pivot in her practice after a brain cancer diagnosis — and how stitching became a daily act of survival, documentation and repair.
In this episode, we explore making as medicine and the quiet power of slow, analogue craft. We discuss:
Leah also reflects on collapsing behind a bar in the moment that changed everything, the role of her parents and partner in her recovery, and what making has taught her about being present.
You can support The Brain Tumour Charity via the Brain Tumour Book fundraising page: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/braintumourbookcharityfundraisingexhibition
Explore more: Visit materialmatters.design for more on our fairs and conferences.
Can we actually recycle cigarette butts, dirty nappies, and coffee pods? Tom Szaky, founder of TerraCycle and the reuse platform Loop, joins Grant Gibson to reveal how 'Material Intelligence' can turn global rubbish into a viable business.
In this episode, we dive into the economics of waste and the design of a circular future. We discuss:
Tom also reflects on his journey as a refugee, dropping out of Princeton, and why his office is permanently filled with trash.
Explore more: Visit materialmatters.design for more on our fairs and conferences, and sign up to our newsletter for regular updates and insights on material intelligence.
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