PLACEMENT BLOG IMOGEN CATCHPOLE - FORME UK
Over the course of seven weeks I have written about my placement experience at Forme UK. I will be giving an insight into the events and activities that I will be undertaking during my time, as well as my general experience of working in a design practice. I hope that you enjoy!
4TH MARCH
I was extremely nervous for my first day; I was worried that I wouldn't have anything to do or I would make a mistake and get told off. Despite this, I was also very excited. I am starting something completely new and getting an insight into how design companies work and what will be expected of me when I hopefully join one once I graduate.
Everyone at Forme UK was so friendly and welcoming, they all made such an effort to make sure I felt comfortable and settled in. My worries of not having anything to do were quickly put to the side as I was asked to help Margaux on a presentation. I think this was a really good way to start off as it was something I felt comfortable doing and I knew that my skills covered this area. I was thrown slightly out of my comfort zone, as for the presentation I was asked to change some AutoCAD drawings and then to re-render them. Due to us using Revit at university I am not that familiar with AutoCAD, but the task I was set wasn't too challenging, therefore it was helpful as this became a nice way to try and familiarise myself with this software.
For this project I was also asked to call up companies and order some samples for the moodboards that would be shown alongside the presentation, this was good for me as it put me out of my comfort zone, having to talk to strangers, this has helped me to build up my confidence. Alongside this project I was asked to help work on another one as well, this new project is already in the construction phrase, but we had realised that some of the products on the FF&E schedule did not come in the specified finish. This meant that we had to work fast to find replacements. The products were for a Category A bathroom, and the desired finish was a brushed brass. I have to say trying to find a shower seat and a recessed sliding shower enclosure in a brushed brass finish is a lot harder than I thought it would be. This also involved ordering finish disks as a lot of companies have other names for the finish, such as brushed gold, so we had to try and make sure that they were a similar colour to one another.
6TH MARCH
CPD - Muraspec
We have a CPD meeting every Wednesday, this week (week 1) a company called Muraspec came to talk to us about what they do. Muraspec create unique wall coverings, photo prints and even curtains and carpets. They have offices based on England and France and have worked on a number of large projects. A lot of their projects come from hotels and restaurants. They deal with all of the legalities such as copyright and take complete responsibility for it. It was really interesting to find out how the legalities work and to see how other companies work and what they do.
UniFor is a new company created by the merge of three companies. Their main clients are law firms, they specialise in sit stand office furniture. I really liked their showroom, it was a big open space over two floors, the space wasn't cluttered, some areas did feel a bit empty but I think that they haven't completely finished the whole showroom. It was really nice to speak to other companies and get to make contacts. I thought their products were really nice, I liked the sit stand feature and the development of the standing group meeting table, as shown above.
At the showroom launch they had hired an external company to provide food and drink as well as a small wine tasting. They had for different wines for us to try, two proseccos, one white and one red wine. I thought that the first prosecco that we were given to try was the best, it went under a special production process to create a sugar-free prosecco. It was called a cloudy prosecco as it is fermented in the bottle the segment is kept in the drink. It tastes really natural and apparently doesn't give you a hangover the next day as there is no sugar in it, which is great! Overall I had a lovely evening, again everyone was so lovely and inviting, it was great to meet other people from external companies as well as to spend some time with my colleges outside the office.
7TH MARCH
I was tasked with re-organising some of the product library. This was good for me to see the different companies and different samples that we have. We decided that I would re-organise into the different usage of materials; upholstery, drapes, wall coverings ect. There were some really lovely fabrics that I saw and i have decided to show a few different ones that I found.
8TH MARCH
CPD - orangebox
Orangebox are a company that specialise in office furniture. They create beautiful desks, chairs and are best known for their meeting pods. These pods have strong acoustic properties and even come fitted with a speaker that produces white noise. They also consider their markets very well, their meeting pods can come with a shutter system at the top to comply with American fire regulations so that they do not need to be fitted with a sprinkler system. I really enjoyed this CPD talk, I thought it was really interesting and it was good to find out about what products they do and what makes Oragnebox different.
Below are some examples of the different products that Orangebox do.
15TH MARCH
CPD - ISIMAR
Isimar is a company that designs and sells outdoor furniture. They have just brought out a new range that includes new round tables and more comfortable lounging outdoor sofas. All of their products are manufactured in Spain and are made with high quality and durable materials.
They make their chairs and stools out of aluminium and steel and then powder coat it in a variety of different colours.
The chairs and sofas are available to come alongside water resistant cushions, all of which are magnetic so are easy to take on and off and stay in place.
I really liked their new range of products that they presented to us, which are part of their newest catalogue. It was interesting to learn about their production process and about the qualities of their furniture; they are very sturdy and durable, and do not bend, which was intriguing as some of the products looked like they were a little unstable and would bend with weight.
I though that their range of products was really nice, and I liked the colours and materials used. It was interesting to see the different types of furniture they provide and to get an insight into some of their projects and how they break down a breif.
20TH MARCH
CPD - DOLPHIN
Dolphin are a sanitary ware company that sell high quality but affordable products. Their taps currently come in chrome or stainless steel but they are looking to expand their finish choice to include brass, bronze and copper.
I found this CPD very interesting as we did not only learn about their products but also about how we can design bathrooms to be more sustainable. I learnt interesting facts about what hand drying method is most hygienic and what people prefer. As well as exploring how you can stop vandalism in bathrooms with sensor taps that have a cut off time. The design of Dolphins products is very considered and impressive.
The newest product to their collection was the Alavo washstation systems, they include concealed infrared taps to conserve energy and water as well as to promote better hygene. The dispensing units can all be taken out with ease and replaced, this enables you to have a mixture of options; all taps and soap dispensers, or paper towels included, or a hand dryer instead. This product is designed to be easy to clean and use as well as being more hygienic and sustainable.
26TH MARCH
Today I had my first meeting with a client, I was very nervous as I had to be extremely professional and dress smartly. I think that it was very good experience for me to sit in on the meeting as I was able to gain an insight into the client and company relationship, to see how meetings and presentations were conducted as well as meeting important people and learning how to conduct myself. I thought that the meeting went well and we were able to gauge a more refined idea of what we should be designing, it was nice to see the work that I had been doing in action and being shown and explained. I really enjoyed this experience and I hope that I am lucky enough to get the chance to go to another client meeting.
27TH MARCH
We soon discovered that the new organisation of the product library had not worked as well as we'd hoped. We found that people in the office were looking for specific brands rather than the usage and therefore were confused as the brands were spread out. Therefore, I re-organised the library into alphabetical order, making sure all of the different collections of brands were in the same place and easily located.
I was also asked to start sorting through the rest of the product library, going through the samples and taking out any doubles or damaged samples and then re-organising the rest. I really liked this task as I enjoy looking at samples and seeing the different types of materials that we can use. A benefit of doing this is that I was allowed to keep any samples that had doubles, which means I have been able to add materials and finishes to my product library. Below I have taken some photos of what the draws looked like after I had re-organised.
28TH MARCH
TASK
This week we were invited to a launch of Task's new product range; The ARC Family. These components have multi-functional purposes and are designed to integrate into collaborative space and become part of the social culture and new way of communicating.
This was a lovely event to be able to attend, it was good to meet some new people and to see the new product range and the different functions it can have. We were all given a goodie-bag at the end, which included taking a small tree, which I was very happy about. Below are some photos that I took at the event.
HALF WAY OVERVIEW
I am currently on break for the Easter holidays and thought this would be a good time to do a small overview of my time at Forme UK so far.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my time and feel very lucky to have had the chance to work with this company. Everyone is so lovely and they have all made an effort to make me feel welcome, as well as making sure that I always have something to do and that I am learning along the way. I would say that I have developed my skills on AutoCAD considerably and it has been great experience seeing how the industry works and how projects are handled and developed. I have been lucky to work on a few different projects and have been set a number of tasks, which in turn have helped me to develop my skills and gain an understanding of the work. I have had a great time and have enjoyed being challenged and I am excited for the rest of my time on my placement to continue.
24TH APRIL
CPD - AMINA
Amina are a company that sells invisible speakers. These speakers can be inserted into plasterboard walls, headboards, ceilings and other areas and there is no visible trace of them. I found this CPD really interesting as I didn't even realise you could get completely invisible speakers. The way that they are designed are really smart and efficient. They are designed to be plastered over or up-to so that you cannot see them, but this does not effect the efficiency of the speaker.
The demonstration was really good, they brought in samples of the boards that go over the speakers as well as a small wind music box machine and played it on and off the board. The way it magnified the sound was amazing and it illustrated perfectly how the technology works and how this applies to normal speakers.
25TH APRIL
DA A
Da a is a new Italian company set up in 2015 which sells unique and creative furniture, both outdoor and indoor. They also make a range of carpets and light fittings. The material that they use for their outdoor furniture is a drainage fabric, meaning that it can stay outside and won't soak up water.
All their finishes are handcrafted which means that each finish is slightly different and unique. The rough finishes are suitable for outdoor use. None of the colours are artificial, they are obtained by mixing different combinations of salts and minerals, which are then applied to the metals and treated with heat, which react in different ways depending on the combination, these reactions give the metals their unique finishes.
Below are some of the different metal finishes that you can get for some of the furniture.
1ST MAY
CPD - ERCO
Erco is a lighting company that provides architectural lighting for galleries, outdoor spaces, offices and other spaces.
All of their lighting is 100% LED and is more efficient than other lighting options. They give off more light as the range that the light gets omitted from is different and spreads further. This means that fewer lights are needed to illuminate a space.
They also offer Bluetooth lighting as well, which reduces the wiring you have to install, this also means that you can control all of the lights from one place and can control the level and colours of lights as well.
2TEC2
2tec2 create woven vinyl flooring for office and commercial space. All of their flooring is seamless and comes with acoustic backing which means that they are softer to walk on and can help with acoustic problems in public spaces. Their flooring is easy to clean as it is water and dirt proof, but when laid down has a soft and warm look to it.
The flooring comes with a 10 year warranty and are easy to replace as you can replace the individual tiles rather than having to get a whole new roll. They are able to cut the floor tiles into a number of different shapes to suit the client, this is restricted to a number that they offer. They also offer a range of carpets.
I really enjoyed organising this meeting with the 2tec2 representative, it was interesting to see their new collection and learn more about their flooring and the benefits of their brand.
2ND MAY
FIRTH
This week I had a meeting with a representative from Firth, we were shown their new collections and told about their products and the materials they're made out of as well as the benefits of each and which products are best suited to each sector.
They had some lovely products and I was really impressed with the quality of their carpets. They are really beautiful and some of them have a lovely shine to them, these are made of nylon. They offer high end carpets for residential and commercial spaces. They also make some lovely rugs which come with different material boarders.
STEPHANIE BOQUET
The representative that I met with for Firth works for a number of different companies and he also showed us some samples of rugs from Stephanie Boquet. They are a Portuguese company and they make incredible rugs, the materials and styles are stunning and look amazing. They are high end and some are made of silk.
POLEYREY
Polyrey are a company that specialise in high-pressure laminates. I had a meeting with a representative from Polyrey so that he could tell me about their new collections and explain their products. I was amazed at the quality of their products as they didn't look like laminates. The range of different finishes was very impressive and the way they have been able to apply texture to their laminates in order for them to seem more realistic is a nice little detail.
It was interesting to learn about their production process and also about the different usage of laminates, they can be applied to a lot more surfaces than I thought. Most of their products are water resistant and have a fairly long warranty if they are installed correctly. This meeting was really good, I got a better understanding of the benefits of laminates and of the ranges that Polyrey do.
3RD MAY
BOLON
Bolon are the main competitors of 2tec2. They specialise in high quality vinyl woven flooring. The products are quite similar from both companies but Bolon offers more creative designs and colours. Not all of their flooring comes with acoustic backing but you can create bold patterns and bright designs. It was really good to see their new collection that they have brought out as it is really bright and unique which I like, we were also shown their new carpet range which was lovely, using vinyl material as well as woven wool to create a soft and warmer texture and feel.
They described four options of what they predict the world and office will be like by 2030. The fourth outcome is that we as a society do nothing to change and we end up killing our planet, the apocalypse happens.
The first outcome is that technology saves us, somehow technology manages to fix all of the environmental problems and saves the planet. This means we no longer have to worry about the survival of our species or planet. Due to this the world becomes really competitive and superficial, there is a large split and it creates two classes, one half and trying to do well in their jobs and succeed, the other half are causing riots and revolting. In this world the people at work are monitored 24 hours a day, everyone is chipped and publicly judged on their efficiency. In the office people are pushed to be at their highest level of productivity, so much so that everyone is in an individual pod, each pod is designed for each individual employee, with the temperature they like and any other specialities that make them work at their best. This world is highly competitive and there is extreme pressure on everyone to do well.
The second reality is that due to peer pressure, we as a society decide to change, it happens slowly but we start to repair and save our planet. This means that everyone collectively decides to live near to where they work, have their children go to the school next to the office. Community spaces are shared, the food hall is the same for the school and the offices. People work together, live next to each other, shop with each other. The communities are really tight-knit and everyone knows everyone.
The third is where the Government has to step in to make a change. People don't decide to change quick enough so the Government steps in with heavy legislation to stop the amount that people travel, waste and consume. Everyone is heavily taxed and therefore people can't afford to travel far unless they are extremely wealthy, this creates a two tear society.
After each possibility was explained we were all asked which reality we would most like to happen. This was really hard as I wouldn't like any of the options. The sad reality is that this is the way our world is going. The best outcome that we can hope for is a mixture of the first three options. This CPD was really interesting , it was interesting to see which option people preferred and hearing about the different outcomes that can happen if we don't decide to change.
9TH MAY
CHRISTOPHER GUY
This week I had a meeting with Christopher Guy, they are a high end unique furniture company. They mainly work with mahogany wood, creative unique and classical pieces. Their unique pieces have featured in quite a few films like James Bond, Crazy Rich Asians and more. They also do customisation and contemporary pieces.
MIRAGE
Today I also met with a company called Mirage, they specialise in porcelain tiles. They can produce them for flooring, wall coverings, worktops and surfaces. The amazing thing is that some of them don't look like porcelain, they can have things printed on them, so they can have prints or made to look like marble or brick. They are all water resistant and some are textured so they can be applied in washrooms and improve the non-slip qualities. They have some really lovely products and I enjoyed the meeting and learning about their products.
PRODUCT LAUNCH
MINOTTI
I went to Minotti's new collection launch at their showroom near Oxford Street. Their showroom was amazing, it was really big and full of amazing furniture. They make residential furniture but are trying to expand into creating furniture that can be applied in hospitality and some office design. Their furniture is really good quality and beautiful.
Below are some photos that I took at the event, they had food, live music and drink and it was really good to meet some new people and be shown around the showroom.
END OF PLACEMENT REVIEW
I have come to the end of my placement and I wanted to do a review of my time over these seven weeks. I started off not knowing how to use AutoCAD properly, not understanding how businesses work, or what it's like to have a office job and being very nervous. I think that I have learnt a lot over the course of the placement, I have improved my skills and become more confident in them. I now can use AutoCAD with ease and know how to produce technical drawings to a good standard. I have met with loads of companies and been able to gain an understanding of their brand and their products, as well as materials. I have been lucky enough to have worked on a number of large projects and been able to do a number of different jobs and tasks. I have had the best time on placement, and I have been offered to stay on with them over the summer which I'm really happy about. I will be going to the Clerkenwell Design Week with my colleagues and look forward to seeing the range of products and companies there.