David Trubridge & His Remarkable Tipu

If you don’t know who David Trubridge is, I am quietly confident you will be familiar with some of his work.  His designs, particularly in lighting, are now globally recognised and he has exhibited in Paris, New York, Milan and Australia. Perhaps his most recognised piece, now referred to as a ‘future design classic’ is his Coral pendant lamp.

David Trubridge had said that he would like to find a way to bring cultural nourishment into people’s lives without using up precious resources and energy. He reckons’ we all have far too much ‘stuff’ in our homes, which is little more than junk food designed to leave us only craving more. He may have a point. He also questions how can we create real and lasting nourishment without the clutter of useless objects that waste precious resources and damage the environment?

When I was in New Zealand last week, I visited Essenze, a wonderful showroom of New Zealand art, craft and design (located in Parnell, Auckland). Displayed in the window was the most incredible piece of wall art. Really. It was magnificent. I should not have been surprised to learn it was one of David Trubridge’s latest creations. It is called ‘Tipu’.

This is definitely not ‘junk-food stuff’ to me. See what you think:

Tipu is the Māori word for sprout or grow, and the design by David Trubridge is inspired  by the organic and irregular patterns that reflect natures growth.

This 2 metre convex light is built with an organic, irregular pattern and mirrors what we see in nature. The material has been specially developed in conjunction with Scion Laboratory and the Bio Polymer Network in New Zealand using plant-based plastic and local flax fibre. It is assembled using only a heat gun to fuse the pieces together.

Honestly, the photographs don’t do it justice. It is a remarkable piece of work.

David Trubridge has a comprehensive website here, which details all of his designs and where you can acquire them around the world.

Essenze ships anywhere and is worth a squizz if you like things artisan and/or New Zealand. You can visit their site here.