Friday Forage | Utopia & Utility - An interview with co founder Pia Wustenberg

Utopia & Utility was founded by brother and sister duo Pia & Moritz Wustenberg, the industrious pair pooled their talents to create the company, which was founded in 2012. Pia is the Creative Director, her extraordinary designs incorporate paper, wood, ceramics and glass. Pia honed her design skills whilst studying for a Masters in Design Products at the RCA. Moritz uses his business acumen to oversee the finance and logistics of the company. Their goal is to grow a business with integrity and good intentions. Pia recently collaborated with Heal's to create a range of lights.

What initially drew you to glass making and what do you like mostly about this medium?

I enjoy the process from liquid and malleable to something hard and stable. The making of glass is really spectacular, and the material holds some of this story in it, it is very alive and full of narrative.

How long did you study for?

I studied Furniture Design for my BA and Product Design for my MA, so all in all five years.

You founded Utopia and Utility with you brother, do you collaborate on the designs together? 

My brother deals with the finance and business, I am the creative director and designer. I think it is very important to distinguish between the roles and have a clear work separation.

"Everything we consider beautiful, has something familiar in it..." I really like your design manifesto, it seems quite an old fashioned concept to have one! It's reminiscent of William Morris' ethos, of the importance of nature within Arts & Crafts. Is it an important factor that the designs resonate on a deeper level than their sheer aesthetic value? 

I believe this is the only way to create something meaningful, for the object to hold more value than just the function or a fashion. When you make something that speaks to the soul, not just of the person using it, but also the person making it, then you achieve something truly beautiful.

The patinated processed paper forms are interesting, can you describe the making of these? And how did they come about?

Those came about as an experiment, using processed materials and trying to find new applications for traditional crafts. 

The process is simple: the paper sheets are glued and rolled into a raw material that is then left to dry. Once dry it is cut on a saw or on a lathe to expose the layers within.

What has been your design highlight so far?

Difficult question- I guess its the moments when you realise you can do something. Once you have mastered a process or a material, and you really understand how to work with it.

Libby Sellers on her eponymous London Gallery

During last years annual Frieze London, The Interiors Almanac was lucky to attend the Pad Luxury design talk Living with Art & Design, where the panelist Libby Sellers passionately described her eponymous gallery. We interviewed Libby to listen to her very own story of how the gallery on Berners street came to fruition.

How did Gallery Libby Sellers begin? 

Having left my post as Senior Curator at the Design Museum, I wanted to continue supporting designers. Given my background, exhibitions were always going to be the lynchpin of my business, and I believed the best way I could continue offering support outside of a museum environment was through a gallery. However, the main difference between the exhibitions I did for the museum and those I do for the gallery are that now these are commercial, selling exhibitions in which every piece we show should have the ability to be sold through the gallery.

What excites you about the designers you collaborate with and promote through Gallery Libby Sellers?

The relationship we have with the designers and their work changes from one to the next.  It normally takes a couple of collaborations before we really start to understand each other, and not every relationship continues. However there are a small handful with whom I work very closely and are in daily communications with. Helping them develop their work and watching the results of these close collaborations come together is the exciting part. Having these works accepted into major public institutions and private collections is the icing on the cake – it’s a validation on all that effort.

Can you recall the first piece of design that hooked you?

My mother used to drive an early 1970s Alfa Spyder. I think I’ve always been drawn to Italian design ever since.

Many of the pieces you display at the gallery have a functionality to them as well as being works of art, why have you chosen to display the designs in a gallery setting?

Most people’s assumptions about design is that it must be mass manufactured and uniform. Through the designers, works and exhibitions that we present in the gallery, I enjoy challenging this expectation and highlighting that – like art –  design can be a conduit for story-telling and narrative. It makes little sense to tell the same story over and over – so we celebrate the unique, the individual, the crafted and poetic through a curated selection of works. Just like a commercial art gallery, we support the careers and portfolios of the designers we represent. We are not a furniture show room, but a platform for the development of these people’s work and careers.

It must be very inspiring to work with makers who have dedicated their lives to their craft, have you ever considered becoming a designer?

No. I’m better at contextualising and presenting works – not making them.

What has been your most favourite collection to work on?

I couldn’t possibly… it’s like asking me to chose which is my favourite child. 

Supermarket Sarah

Sarah Bagner founded Supermarket Sarah in 2009, the online boutique started off with humble beginnings - on a market stall in Portoblello. Sarah discovered a gap in the market for a curated online shopping experience. Her eclectic array of displays include a mix of makers from fashion to interior frippery. The walls reflect the creativity of the designers work and are an all round treasure trove! The Interiors Almanac recently joined Supermarket Sarah to set up a pop up market kiosk in East London, where Sarah sold works from designers Crispin Finn and Tom Pigeon which she elaborately displayed around a plethora of Pineapples!Here Supermarket Sarah talks about her beginnings and her collections.

Supermarket Sarah featuring Textile Designer Marie Molterer

How did Supermarket Sarah begin?

Supermarket Sarah is based around the idea of a real wall full of clickable items, each with a unique story. Users simply click and buy. I started creating the walls from my home living room, which then spread into bars, receptions, public spaces and Selfridges, London. 

At the time I was also doing Portobello Market selling vintage and I was interested in re-creating the feel of market shopping online, by bringing personality and stories into shopping. I felt the online world was rather dry and clinical and the fun was stripped from the experience. 

Are the walls curated by the chosen designers?

Initially I started creating the walls in my living room but then I started inviting designers that I admired to compose them using the same template and so the wall canvas has grown into a platform of walls. Each Designer creates their own wall. Of course, I still create the walls and choose the designers and  often work collaboratively with brands and celebrities on their walls as a consultant. 

Supermarket Sarah featuring Designer Russell Barratt of Random Bangle

It is interesting how you combine new and old pieces on the walls, which seem to tell a story of the designers own tastes and inspiration, is this an important aspect of Supermarket Sarah?

Yes definitely I like the mix, I think the walls represent feelings and people and its nice to show that, with an array of pieces which evoke different moods and stories. 

How do you decide upon the themes and select designers which are promoted on the Supermarket Sarah walls?

I look for people with passion, people who clearly seem to love what they do and their work really becomes them. My book is about walls with heart and this is very true also for the walls on the site. I don't dictate one aesthetic but celebrate personal style: whatever that maybe Its all about Loving your stuff!

Supermarket Sarah featuring Illustrator This Is Nick White & Pals

Which installations have you most enjoyed working on?

I loved creating Kirstie Allsopp's home wall with her, there's something lovely about a home wall and really trying to bring something new to a personality that many people have seen on TV. I really wanted to show Kirstie in a more eccentric light as she loves the weird and wonderful!

Do you collect anything in particular?

Lots! I have a button collection which is growing, a 1920's men with moustache collection which I like a lot and cats - of course!

Where did you travel during the making of your book Wonder Walls?

I went to Tokyo which was fantastic and Sweden and the UK.  

Which is your favourite entry and why?

Oh I couldn't say! What I love is that all the walls are so unique!