Form 3 by Moon Design

FORM CO L L A B O R AT I V E

JOURNAL BY

I S S U E

T H R E E

MOON

WE ARE THE

ARCHITECT

WE ARE THE

BUILDER

www.turnersopticians.co.uk

A long established Bristol family Opticians celebrated opening their bespoke glasses & eye care practice in Henleaze in 2016.

To arrange your extended eye exam or bespoke glasses design consultation please contact the practice on 0117 962 2474, visit our website www.turnersopticians.co.uk or call in and say Hi! We hope to see you soon.

4 2474 0117 962

0117 962 2474

One of the delights of designing our Henleaze practice from literally a blank canvas was the opportunity to create something new, something different, maybe even something special. It was this concept that led us to select TD Tom Davis as the bespoke British eyewear collection with which to design, style and create stunning eye wear for our patients to enjoy. Our practice design has a unique style, reflecting Peter’s commitment to caring for your vision and eye health in a professional yet warm, caring & friendly practice. Design touches such as our cinema light boxes and Hollywood mirror - in which you can admire your stunning new glasses, bring a sophisticated and modern look to your Opticians Practice. On the Hollywood theme, I like to think that if Marylyn Monroe had seen Turners Opticians she would have said “give a girl the right glasses and she can conquer the world”. At Turners Opticians we will take time to understand both your unique eye and vision needs as well as the look you would like to achieve with your glasses. The styling and design of your bespoke glasses begins with a design consultation. We prefer to enhance rather than obscure yours natural looks and consider your colouring, facial shape and contours when advising you on eye wear design.

Our expert team will discuss your likes, any colour and shape preferences you may have as well as taking a personalised series of measurements to ensure your bespoke glasses are a perfect fit. You can also choose to have your name discretely engraved on this inner aspect of the temple side. We are passionate about giving you the choice of the best materials available. Your bespoke glasses can be crafted from ethically sourced natural horn, cotton acetate or titanium. Natural horn is Peter’s personal bespoke glasses choice - he chose natural horn due to its light, warm and gentle touch as well as being allergy safe for his skin. Peter has combined his natural horn with carbon fibre and titanium for the ultimate in natural & high tech craftsmanship. Your vision and eye health is in safe hands. Our eye clinic provides sophisticated equipment often only found in hospital eye clinics, which is available with our extended eye exam. At Turners Opticians our commitment is to thorough & in-depth eye care and providing each of you the clearest & most comfortable vision. When combined with British designed bespoke glasses you can look & feel a million dollars!

5 www.turnersopticians.co.uk

Tailored Flooring has moved to

80 Alma Road, Clifton

80 Alma Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2DJ – 0117 973 3393 – sales@tailoredflooring.co.uk – tailoredflooring.co.uk 6

Exciting new changes at Tailored Flooring new showroom, new products and new ideas! Our products are becoming ever more natural and ecofriendly. New 100% un-dyed luxury wool carpets with thick, shaggy piles are now available from Alternative Flooring and Jacaranda. Alternative’s new ‘Crafty’ range employs novel crosshatched and diamond weaves and are backed with cotton and a natural latex, thereby avoiding the chemical nasties present in many carpets. Jacaranda have made new additions to their hand-woven carpet and rug ranges, made using traditional, hand-made and ethical methods. Fitting carpets of this quality is a work-of-art and Tailored Flooring has the expertise and ingenuity to meet and exceed your expectations. Firm favourites for stair runners are the respected Fleetwood Fox

It seems that herringbone patterns in parquet woodflooring are firmly back in vogue! Ted Todd, one of our favoured suppliers of quality, engineered wood floors have introduced a fantastic range of herringbone products in natural oaks, whitewashes and smoked effects. If it’s a traditional look you’re going for, Ted Todd offer a distressed herringbone, engineered to look like is has already, and will continue to stand up to the tests to time. These parquet blocks can also be mixed and matched in over 30,000 combinations. Again, Herringbone can be quite tricky to lay but Tailored Flooring’s qualified fitters will ensure a perfect finish. Pay them a visit at 80 Alma Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2DJ for new products and new design ideas – 0117 973 3393 – sales@tailoredflooring.co.uk

80 Alma Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2DJ – 0117 973 3393 – sales@tailoredflooring.co.uk – tailoredflooring.co.uk 7

MINI COOPER S E ALL4 PHEV COUNTRYMAN. The new MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 is our most fleet-focussed model yet. Combining the efficiency of a hybrid with the practicality of a crossover, its 26-mile pure-electric range opens up the possibility of fuel-free commuting. What’s more, its 49 g/km* CO2 emissions and average fuel consumption of 134.5 mpg* (combined) work hard to lower running costs for your fleet. The new MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 is available to order now through Dick Lovett Corporate.

SEARCH: DICK LOVETT CORPORATE CALL: 08000 180 730 Official Fuel Economy Figures for the new MINI Countryman range: Urban 30.1–58.9 mpg (9.4–4.8 l/100km). Extra Urban 45.6–70.6 mpg, (6.2–4 l/100km). Combined 38.2–134.5 mpg (7.4–2.1 l/100km). CO2 Emissions 49-169 g/km. *Figures are obtained in a standardised test cycle using a combination of battery power and petrol fuel after the battery had been fully charged. They are intended for comparisons between vehicles and may not be representative of what a user achieves under usual driving conditions. The new MINI Cooper S E Countryman ALL4 is a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle that requires mains electricity for charging. 8

Bathroom Solutions Bristol

beautiful bathrooms by design

Leaders in the business for over 30 years.

More than 50 different bathrooms on display.

Bathroom Solutions Bristol 54 Redcliffe Street Bristol BS1 6LS 0117 929 9227 info@bathroomsolutionsbristol.co.uk www.bathroomsolutionsbristol.co.uk 9

Leading brands such as Matki, Hansgrohe and Duravit.

Fabrics & Wallpapers Curtains & Blinds handmade on site Interior Design Paint mixed while you wait

TA I L O R YOU R HOM E W I T H W H I T TA KER WE LLS TH E BOYS WHO SE W From design to installation, under one roof. T: 01179 83 84 85

E: hello@whittakerwells.com

157 Whiteladies Rd, Bristol, BS8 2RF

www.whittakerwells.com

Available at

Your Specialists in Electric Blinds

FOREWORD

A Peek Behind the Curtain Putting together each issue of Form brings with it many pleasures. But one of the most enduring is the chance to discover other people’s passions – their reason for getting out of bed in the morning.

As you work your way through the host of tales we’ve collated for this issue, we hope you find the different characters, motivations and talents as curious and inspiring as all of us at Moon do.

Whether it’s extolling the virtues of raw chocolate, crafting jewellery that’s as ethical as it is beautiful, or scouring the UK for classic furniture, to delve into other people’s lives – people you probably walk past every day – and learn their unique stories is a true privilege.

So, please, read on and take a peek at all the passion that resides in the homes, workshops, studios, kitchens and shops of Bristol, Bath and beyond.

CREDITS

PUBLISHED BY

CONTRIBUTORS

MOON ARCHITECT + BUILDER

HART’S BAKERY A DA M ’ S R AW C H O C O L AT E

EDITED BY

PIZZA WORKSHOP

TOM BROWN

DIANA PORTER

w w w. t o m b r o w n c o p y. c o . u k

BRISTOL BEER WEEK

CONNECTEDWORKS

GEORGE ARNOLD

IN HOUSE BROWN IN TOWN

PHOTOGRAPHERS

TEMPLE CYCLES

MARCUS NEWEY w w w. m a r c u s n e w e y. c o . u k

MARK CAINS

BRETT CHARLES

MODERN ROOM

w w w. b r e t t c h a r l e s p h o t o g r a p h y. c o . u k brett.charles@me.com

MIKE NEALE

H AT T I E E L L I S

PIZZA WORKSHOP

w w w. h a t t i e e l l i s . c o . u k hattie94@hotmail.co.uk

MR B’S TURNERS OPTICIANS

I L L U S T R ATO R

DICK LOVETT

R O S A N N A TA S K E R

W H I T TA K E R W E L L S

w w w. r o s a n n a t a s k e r. c o m rosannatasker@hotmail.co.uk 0796427 1275

TA I LO R E D F LO O R I N G B AT H R O O M S O L U T I O N S OSKAR SCHMIDT KITCHENS CHAUNCEYS OMEGA MANDARIN STONE PIANO SHOP THE FIRE BASKET

CONTENTS

FOOD & DRINK

MOON PEOPLE

16 R I S I N G S TA R S

78 EURO EXPLORER

22 SAME INGREDIENTS. N E W LO C AT I O N .

86 MEDAL WINNER

28 BRISTOL BEER WEEK

FURNITURE + HOME

32 N E W C H O C O L AT I E R S

90 MOON MAKERS 96 PAG E T U R N E R

DESIGN

100 V I N TAG E M O D E R N I S M

38 C H E LT E N H A M B O U N D

104 SMART HOMES. INTELLIGENT DESIGN.

42 IN PURSUIT OF PERFECTION 50 G O L D S TA N DA R D S 56 ARCHIEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S BACK

MOON PROJECTS 108 PROJECT 195

62 DRESS TO THE LEFT

114 PROJECT 204

68 JUST MOON

122 PROJECT 201

72 IN HOUSE

128 PROJECT 197 134 PROJECT 198 140 PROJECT 200

Hartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bakery

Written by: Tom Brown

Images by: George Arnold

Rising Stars

Hartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bakery is a thriving artisan bakery, tucked away in one of Bristol Temple Meads Victorian arches. We caught up with its founder, Laura Hart, to learn more about the beauty of the bake. 16

Hartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bakery

Hart’s Bakery

Next time you step off a train at Temple Meads and catch the alluring smell of freshly baked bread, chances are it’s emanating from Hart’s Bakery: Bristol’s not-so-undiscovered gem in the fresh food scene.

Inspired by contemporaries such as Hackney’s E5 Bakehouse, Laura Hart realised the potential in moving her already well-regarded bakery from Cotham to one of Temple Meads’ arches. A chance to create the big open plan bakery she’d always dreamed of: “I’d always wanted a place where everything happened in the same space so customers can see how and by whom everything is made,” explains Laura. “After spending a year looking for a new spot, I found Arch 35. It had previously been a recording studio, car cleaning business and a bondage dungeon. We’re very glad to add bakery to its history!” In this unique space, Laura and her team craft their signature sourdough bread along with a whole host of baked goods that keep loyal customers coming back for more: cinnamon buns, custard tarts, sausage rolls – all part of their shifting, seasonal repertoire. But conjuring up such fine fare takes dedication: “We start early: the ovens go on at 5am before we finish off the pastries that have been proving all night. By 7am, when we open, the shop counter is full of fresh pastries and warm bread and the bakers start on the next day’s bake. This rhythm is so important for a sustainable working life.” Laura’s ascent to owning her own bakery can be traced back right to her early years at home, growing up in a household that valued hands-on, homemade meals:

“My mother is a great cook and I learnt a lot at her apron strings. We had vegetables from the garden and homemade bread. Although it took a few years to get over my desperate love of white sliced like my friends had! My signature bake as a 10 or 11 year old was a ‘profiterole mountain’ with cream filling and chocolate sauce – there was one particular summer holiday when I was really let loose in the kitchen and cooked or baked every day and haven’t really stopped since.”

and texture, the slow rhythm helps with our working hours and it keeps better and makes better bread-based dishes.“ Now a firm fixture in Temple Meads’ evolving, independent food and drink scene, there are few better places to brighten your day with a mouth-watering pastry and locally-roasted coffee. So next time you’re in the vicinity or your train is delayed, why not follow your nose to Arch 35. It certainly beats a stale sandwich from the trolley service.

With a love of baking cemented, Laura moved to Bristol in 2001 and spent 10 years working as a pastry chef/baker in some of the city’s best regarded restaurants: Quartier Vert, Bordeaux Quay, Ocean Tapas Bar and the Lido. After being made redundant, she decided to brave it alone: “I started to look for an alternative to the restaurant scene but couldn’t see anywhere to move to in Bristol, so it seemed the right time to start something. The food network in Bristol is so supportive that is wasn’t long before I had a premises, a few wholesale customers and just about enough nerve to give it a go.” Putting all her experience to use, Laura started to build a name for herself with her trademark sourdough bread. In fact, it’s the only kind of bread baked by Hart’s Bakery: “Sourdough is my favourite! I find it more interesting to make and easier to eat than yeasted bread. It has more character of flavour

hartsbakery.co.uk

Hartâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bakery

Pizza Workshop

Written by: Tom Brown

Images by: George Arnold

Same Ingredients. New Location.

After winning plaudits for preparing authentic sourdough pizza in their Bedminster restaurant, Pizza Workshop is now bringing their â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;One thing. Made well.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; ethos to people north of the river 22

Pizza Workshop

Peruse the Pizza Workshop menu and you’ll notice that it consists of pizza and…well, not a lot else. That’s because Pizza Workshop prefers to pour all its expertise into crafting one thing, beautifully. ‘One thing. Made well.’ – it even says it on the door. And now they’re bringing this carefully considered approach to the people of Clifton, Bristol. The new space on Whiteladies Road shares all the ingredients that have made their Bedminster restaurant such a fond fixture in the Bristol food scene. And it all starts with the pizza: Made from 100% sourdough with no added yeast, and risen over 30 hours, an incredibly light base provides the starting point. This is then topped with a homemade San Marzano tomato sauce, Italian cheeses and extra virgin olive oil. What comes out the oven is a unique blend: thinner and crispier than a traditional Napoletan pizza, but not as dry and crispy as a Roma pizza. Diners can choose from around ten pizzas (though it changes depending on season and specials). But if you’re popping in for lunch, you

can also sample one of their famous boccas – a traditional hot sandwich from Naples, made using the same sourdough as the pizzas.

So if you find yourself wondering the streets of Clifton with a rumbling belly, a beautifully simple mealtime awaits at 159a Whiteladies Road.

But it’s not just the food that makes Pizza Workshop such a satisfying experience. The new restaurant’s frontage and interior has been designed and built by the people behind this very journal, Moon. And their craftsmanship is telling: bespoke fittings, vibrant colours and top-quality materials that reflect the pizza being served – simple and premium. The dining space itself is crafted predominantly from ash, while the lights, tables and chairs were all made in Moon’s own workshop. But the true hero of the space is the open kitchen, simply tiled to provide a clean backdrop for the marble slabs used to prepare the pizza. As the small but perfectly formed menu and bright and breezy environment suggests, Pizza Workshop is not trying to offer a threecourse restaurant experience. Instead, they invite you to enjoy a pizza or a bocca, a drink or two, maybe some nibbles, and some great conversation.

Pay the new restaurant a visit: 159a Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2RF 0117 973 8941 Or explore their menu at: www.pizzaworkshop.co.uk

Bristol Beer Week

Written by: Steve Powell

Images by: Steve Powell

Bristol Beer Week 14th to 21st October 2017

Steve Powell, co-founder of Bristol Beer Week, finds time before this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event to tell us just what goes into keeping the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hop heads happy 28

Bristol Beer Week

I’m very familiar with writing about Bristol’s beer scene, but normally always from a promotional perspective, because I am the founder and main organiser of Bristol Beer Week. I am currently deep into the detail of the fifth annual Bristol Beer Week, having started it up in 2013. Since then I have transitioned from a 14-year long full time career, to being self-employed and running my own business. Whilst the financial rewards of running Bristol Beer Week are limited, the experience I have gained from putting together and promoting a citywide annual event has really helped me in the rest of my working life. The positive aspects that make Bristol one of the UK’s most highly regarded cities independence, community and innovation to name a few - contribute equally to the local beer industry. There are now around 20 small independent breweries in Bristol, most establishing themselves over the last 10 years; not bad for a city with a population of less than half a million people. A number of these new breweries are highly regarded across the UK and further afield, and many have a worldwide export market. The thing I find most interesting about the industry is its range of producers. Some breweries operate with as few as two people, driven by a pure passion for what they do. Others are better established, with a more structured approach to running a medium sized business. All provide a valuable input into the local economy. The differing size and set-up of each brewery is reflected in the eclectic range of beer styles available across the city, so there is always something for both the ‘traditional’ and ‘modern’ beer drinker. Likewise, the city’s watering holes range from centuries old pubs to modern bars with industrial décor and street food menus. All of this comes together to make an eclectic scene that has become a real beer destination. I’m often asked what I get out of running Bristol Beer Week. Primarily, it’s very rewarding seeing people enjoy something that you have helped put together, which I am sure most event organisers would relate to. It’s also an opportunity for me to be involved in a particularly friendly industry that most people

only get to see from the outside. I come from a corporate financial background, so it’s particularly refreshing to see a more open and, dare I say it, honest way of working. My challenge with Bristol Beer Week 2017 is to keep pushing things forwards. Whilst it’s obviously a bit of a cliché, I’ve always wanted the week to be more than just a series of beer festivals. One of my main goals is to open up the Bristol beer scene to new people, preferably those that wouldn’t normally attend a beer related event. This means thinking of new and interesting ways to promote the local beer scene and encouraging others to do the same. Luckily, there are many other likeminded

people in Bristol who believe that developing a more inclusive beer scene is a positive goal for the local industry and the city as a whole. Bristol Beer Week will take place between 14th and 21st October 2017. The best way to keep up to date with this year’s events and beery happenings is to follow us on Twitter or via our website.

@bristolbeerweek www.bristolbeerweek.co.uk

Designer Lighting

Contemporary Furniture

Oskar Furniture and Accessories 47 Whiteladies Road Clifton Bristol BS8 2LS Tel: 0117 973 4777 e-mail: info@oskarfurniture.co.uk www.oskarfurniture.co.uk Appointed retailer for

Accessories

Original Designs available from

OSKAR

Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Raw Chocolate

Written by: Mark Claydon

Images by: George Arnold

The New Chocolatiers Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Raw Chocolate is part of a growing movement of chocolatiers who are reclaiming cacao pods after years of mistreatment. Mark Claydon, Operations Manager, kindly breaks off a little bit of history for us. 32

Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Raw Chocolate

Adam’s Raw Chocolate

‘Raw’ and ‘chocolate’ are not two words you would expect to go together. But over the last 15 years a very quiet movement has been growing and taking hold within cafes, delis and health food shops up and down the land. And that movement has taken on this very curious name… raw chocolate. The term ‘raw’ is one we associate with perishable foods (meat, poultry, fish, fruit and vegetables), foods that were once live. Any of these foods prepared above the temperature of 42oc (the point at which molecular structure begins reacting to the heat) ceases to be considered raw. And although cacao is a plant, yes it really does grow on trees, the beans and white fleshy inners which are taken from the cacao pods are fermented in direct sunlight at temperatures above 50oc before they travel anywhere. More heat is applied when preparing the finished product, and many other ingredients are combined before a bar arrives in your shop or a dessert lands on your table. The term raw in its literal sense, uncooked, doesn’t seem to fit. And yet should you approach staff in health food shops on Gloucester Road or in Clifton Village and ask for raw chocolate, you will be directed to a selection of numerous British brands all proudly sporting this terminology. To discover its meaning we must look deeper. Cacao has been around a while. In written history it pre-dates all our popular religions by a couple of thousand years. The plants originate in the equatorial regions of the Americas where the Theobroma plant was cultivated by all the known civilizations including Incan, Mayan, Olmec, and was even used as currency. Like the coca plant, cacao was recognised as an energy and pleasure giving food which when prepared with care at low temperatures could give a warrior the energy for a day long march. So mineral rich is cacao that it can even act as a hunger suppressant when eaten in its raw form. The bean is abundant in micronutrients copper, manganese, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, and has the highest magnesium content of any plant known to man. Magnesium is a key fuel for the cells of our bodies, and is deficient in western diets due to its susceptibility to heat. Cacao also contains vitamins A, B1, B2 and C, and a large spectrum of amino acids. Recognising its benefits these Mesoamerican

Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Raw Chocolate

Adam’s Raw Chocolate

civilisations took great care in the preparation and use of cacao. Its status was highly revered. Theobroma translates into English as The Food of the Gods. If they mixed ingredients it was with local sweeteners which had not been refined, so they didn’t stress the body and draw essential proteins away from the immune system; thus allowing the consumer to absorb all the essential micronutrients this amazing plant had to offer. So how has it been that in Europe were introduced to a far different form of chocolate? One which relies heavily on dairy and refined sugar? In the 18th century when many exotic foods were pouring into Britain and Europe from around the world as naval trade boomed, the cacao bean was brought back to the UK by the likes of Mr Fry and Mr Cadbury, and by others into mainland Europe. Efforts were made to turn a profit and explore recipes using the available ingredients. Beans were roasted like coffee beans to bring out the flavour. But this made them more bitter and ways to sweeten needed to be found. Granular sugar was in abundance on the shores of the Thames at Tate’s and Lyle’s docks, and powdered dairy could be produced at home. The end result was an extremely pleasing piece of confectionery with a chocolate base. One which has infiltrated almost every form of meal and beverage in the western world.

Raw chocolate endeavours to achieve this. To recreate the original uses of cacao and chocolate, without all the additives. Raw in this instance means ‘care has been taken not to damage the micronutrients, and all the ingredients are good for you’. Raw chocolatiers avoid dairy and refined ingredients such as processed sugars; they mix ingredients at low temperatures, and never use roasted beans. An ethos is upheld that only beneficial ingredients will be used, and many brands list the vitamins and minerals you gain from each bar. At Adam’s we make a chocolate you can eat for breakfast, which will supress your hunger until lunch. We eat it before sports. And certainly have at least a piece every day. We use only ingredients which are coldpressed and unrefined in their preparation. We use natural sugars which originate in the Andes and Mexico, which are as sweet as granular/processed sugar but have 30-40 times less sugar content. Dairy is avoided at all costs. It’s simply not needed. We heat our mixing bowl with steam and monitor the temperature constantly. And we don’t temper our chocolate, we simply pour it into trays and let it set. Then we cut and package it by hand. The result is an incredibly balanced and naturally flavoured chocolate which tastes like nothing you have ever tried and works wonders across your palate.

But the link to the old benefits has been lost. Chocolate is considered a guilty pleasure. Spotty teens, sugar rushes and lactose issues abound in our modern view of chocolate. Refined ingredients like dairy powder and granular sugar prevent the body from absorbing micronutrients in food. Take them out of any chocolate bar (and remove the soy, lecithin, emulsifiers etc.) and you are left with arguably the healthiest food you will eat all day. Avoid roasting the bean for flavour, to prevent damaging the vitamins and minerals (particularly the magnesium), and a little piece every day could strengthen your immune system, counter the growth of free radicals, and leave you skipping down the street simply because you can. You’ve heard that high % cacao is good for the heart because of all the antioxidants. What about unroasted high % cacao? You’d be bouncing off the walls in no time.

adamsrawchocolate.com

Adamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Raw Chocolate

Moon Cheltenham

Written by: Tom Brown

Images by: George Arnold

Cheltenham Bound Moon’s third office will open later this year, introducing the Architect + Builder model to Cheltenham Having opened our second office in Bath three years ago, we’ve decided to venture up the M5, introducing Moon’s unique service to Cheltenham. In a town where designers just design and builders just build – where clients still have to work with more than one company – we’re confident our model will offer something fresh to both homeowners and businesses. For our new office, we wanted to find a space with real street-presence, one that would allow passers by to pop in and chat about their project. The Suffolks was the perfect location, a welcoming business community set amongst

some beautiful houses. And this summer we got the keys. The interior will be unveiled later in the year when Jamie, the Cheltenham Project Manager, opens the doors to an office that will be both a working hub and an inspirational space for clients. After completing our first project just south of Cheltenham this summer, we’re looking forward to getting stuck into a variety of house types in the area, from Georgian townhouses to Cotswold villas.

Moon Cheltenham

Matt Mears, founder of Bristol bike manufacturer Temple Cycles, invites you on his journey to craft the perfect British bicycle

Temple Cycles Written by: Matt Mears Images by: George Arnold

Temple Cycles

A bicycle should be a part of your life. An object you use every day. One that you understand how to ride. It should become part of your body. And something that you know how to fix and care for.

We haven’t yet mastered the bicycle life here in the UK, fair to say there’s a lot holding us back. But on a recent trip to Denmark, I came to understand the potential of bicycle design: what it can do for us as individuals and for the wider communities in which we live. Let’s start by looking at a traditional bike you might find in Copenhagen. From this we’ll be able to extract some interesting characteristics and design features which we can use to build our ideas for the ‘Perfect British Bicycle’. Copenhagen is full of bikes, but their design falls quite precisely within certain parameters. Without getting too much into the technical nitty gritty, their design can be summarised thus: a traditional steel tubed frame, easy to make and very durable. Upright riding position and ‘slack’ geometry, creating a stable and comfortable riding experience. Just one gear or concealed hub gears, keeping maintenance to a minimum. Full road bike size wheels, keeping your options open for new tyres and innertubes. Mudguards as standard, allowing the bike to be used in all weather. A foldaway kickstand and integrated lock, letting you prop and secure your bike anywhere. Danish people don’t want to worry about their bicycle. They want it to work every time they jump on it, rarely breakdown and to withstand daily use in the harsh winters with gritted roads. Their country is flat and they lock their bikes outside their dwellings. They don’t need a light bike for climbing hills or something that’s easy to carry up the steps to their flat. They spend a lot of money on their bikes yes, far more than the average UK bike buyer, but they understand the need to invest in quality, something that will last and not let them down. Bicycle lanes are a huge part of the infrastructure and a majority of the urban populations choose to travel by bike

rather than car or bus. This has led to cleaner cities, a more healthy population and very little congestion. The bicycle is working here. Why can’t we emulate this in the UK? There’s a whole host of reasons getting in the way of us becoming a nation of enlightened cyclists, but we’re trying and certainly heading in the right direction! Firstly, we need to get over this throwaway bike culture. Too many people think that a bicycle is something you pop down to buy at Halfords (who currently sell 30% of the bikes sold in the UK every year), spending £150 on the most basic, poorly designed, heavy and unwieldy machine possible. They use it a handful of times until the gears start to grind, the brakes become dull and unresponsive, the wheels go out of true and the frame starts rusting. Then they take it to the tip and buy another one again for £150. This puts people off cycling. These cheap bikes rarely fit the rider well, are equipped with the lowest-end gears and brakes, often assembled incorrectly, and simply don’t offer the pleasure, grace and sense of freedom a well-designed bike can bring. As well as this, we don’t have the infrastructure to support cycling (yet!). We need a larger network of cycle lanes, ideally segregated. This makes cycling so much more accessible for people, especially those concerned with safety and sharing the roads with lorries and cars. Unfortunately, a lot of our historic cities were developed with the absence of bicycles, making it extremely difficult and costly to implement cycle lanes. However the demand for a better cycle infrastructure is growing, and we’ve seen plenty of useful improvements here in Bristol, and places like London are planning on spending £770m in the next five years on developing the cycle network.

Lastly, our topography and roads vary wildly. From the steep streets of Bristol, to the winding lanes of the countryside, the long straight flats of Manchester and the trafficheavy multi-lane roundabouts of London. A bike that can handle all of this needs to have versatility as its fundamental design driver. We’re all riding around on all sorts of machines from mountain bikes and racing bikes to fixies and town bikes. There’s no consistency like you see in Copenhagen. So what do we think our ‘Perfect British Bicycle’ should be? This is something we’re working on. We’re constantly developing our ideas, modifying our existing designs from the feedback we get from our customers, prototyping new concepts and trying to come up with a solution for a bike that almost anyone would want, use and enjoy. We currently produce a range of different bicycles for a variety of specific uses, but our best selling models are the ‘all-rounders’, appealing to urban cyclists, rural cyclists, daily commuters and leisure cyclists. These are the closest things we have to the ‘Perfect British Bike’ at the moment, but we will be developing an off-the-peg model that anyone will feel confident buying and riding. Essentially, we want to get more people enthusiastic about cycling, and sharing in the joys that it brings for many years to come.

templecycles.co.uk

Temple Cycles

Diana Porter

Written by: Ashleigh McPherson

Images by: George Arnold

Gold Standards Nestled on the steep incline of Park Street is Diana Porter Contemporary Jewellery â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bristolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s go-to hub for remarkable designs. Ashleigh McPherson shares the journey to creating unique pieces, ethically. 50

Diana Porter

Diana Porter starting out making silver pieces in her living room before her unique designs grew in popularity and demand. Now based on Park Street, with a workshop situated just behind, our store is home to an ever-eclectic collection. One with Fairtrade and sustainability at its heart. Diana has always been concerned about the emerging bad practices surrounding the acquisition of the raw materials used to create jewellery. So she decided to investigate ways to produce her collections in a more ethical fashion. In 2007, Diana visited the Cotapata artisanal mines in Bolivia where they were in the process of improving their practises and applying for Fairtrade recognition. In January 2011, the Cotapata Mining Co-operative, a small mine in the heart of Bolivia’s Cotapata National Park, became the world’s first producer of Fairtrade gold.

Following this breakthrough, we furthered our research into Fairtrade gold suppliers, sampling the different golds; white, red and yellow in various carats, to ensure they could get the perfect colour required. To date, every new piece made in 18ct gold or 9ct yellow and red gold is made in Fairtrade gold as standard. Each new piece is certified with our FLO ID and stamped on the inside with the Fairtrade stamp. This means that the gold is traceable back to the artisanal miners who were paid a fair price and whose working conditions are monitored and verified. This year, we have widened our search, with a vision to make our whole collection ecofriendly, sustainable and Fairtrade. After attending the ‘FLUX’ Fairtrade luxe event earlier this year we were able to source several new suppliers and now offer Fairtrade gold options for our necklaces and earrings too.

However, the search for suppliers of Fairtrade gold findings continues. There is a movement within the jewellery industry that puts pressure on large companies to source new materials and components as the consumer demand for traceability grows. Back in 2011, to commemorate the accreditation of Diana Porter Contemporary Jewellery by the Fairtrade Foundation and celebrate this positive progress in the British jewellery industry, Diana designed and made a special eight piece spinning ring. The etching reads ‘fairmind’ in relief lettering across the eight pieces and the jumble of marks when the ring is spun represents the confusion surrounding the mining process and the difficulty in obtaining traceable ethical metals. This year, we launched our new ‘Molten’ collection inspired by the process of casting ethical, liquid gold into wedding and engagement bands; creating precious future

Diana Porter

heirlooms and keepsake rings. Pieces in this collection are crafted in either Fairtrade or recycled golds, making each of the new rings ethically conscious. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Moltenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; features our new exclusive textures where sandblasting and polishing techniques combine to form a tactile finish and tiny diamonds sit nestled amongst the undulating dips in the molten-like surface.

small miners still use mercury to assist in the extraction of gold from gold ore. The process involves heating the mixture so that the mercury evaporates, leaving the gold. This highly toxic substance can be deadly for the miners who rely on the trade, while surrounding areas become slowly polluted as the mercury escapes into the environment.

Alongside ensuring our products are Fairtrade, we wanted to contribute to improving working conditions within the industry. At present, throughout developing countries, artisanal

Back in October 2016, we sponsored the Golden Ticket Event in Bristol, along with Fairtrade Gold. The event raised money for a kacha machine which is designed to eradicate

the use of mercury in the production of gold. We donated a Fairtrade gold ring to the auction to raise money and fantastically they made enough to donate a kacha machine to a small mining community in Uganda. This is one small step towards a fairmined future and we hope to work with local charities to further support the development of safer working environments.

dianaporter.co.uk

Diana Porter

I am the Builder is the second childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s book written, designed and produced by Moon

I am the Builder Written by: Tom Brown Images by: George Arnold

I am the Builder

Reuniting with Rosanna Tasker, the scarily talented young illustrator, I am the Builder continues the adventures of Archie, a selfproclaimed 10-year-old genius who’s on a one-boy mission to design and build the ultimate garden den.

Moon originally took the plunge into children’s books with I am the Architect, a chance to share their passion for architecture and building. The aim was to inspire and reach young minds with a story filled with humour, warmth and, thanks to Rosanna’s art, beauty. And it worked. I am the Architect was sent all over the world – from England to America to Australia. It featured in school lessons across Bristol and Bath. And it was used for Bristol Architecture Centre kid’s week, as well as being stocked at architecture centres in America and France. Moon also sent boxes of the book to Save the Children to commemorate Den Day. But the most satisfying response to I am the Architect was from the readers themselves.

Seemingly enamoured by Archie’s unique, megalomaniac ways, Moon received hundreds of den designs from Archie’s fans, from which three winners were picked.

writing and irreverent take on the stereotypes that abound in the building trade, as well as learning about the industry’s craft and creativity that perhaps go under appreciated.

Following on from this success, a sequel was inevitable. I am the Builder sees Archie venture into the world of construction – to finish the job he started in I am the Architect. And the stakes have never been higher as Archie and his team toil to get their den featured on the completely fictional TV show: Kelvin McClood’s Amazingly Grandiose Designs. What could possibly go wrong?

Hopefully, as young readers enjoy Archie’s new tale, they’ll have a think about the buildings around them and how they were constructed. As before, Moon is holding a competition to encourage those who are inspired by the book to venture outside and build their own ultimate dens. Just, hopefully, with a bit more savvy for safety than Archie.

Moon hopes Archie’s new adventure will again reach beyond the design museums and schools of the South West. Find an audience who will enjoy the rich illustrations, playful

iamarchie.co.uk

I am the Builder

Brown in Town

Written by: David Minns

Images by: Brown in Town

Brown in Town, Bristolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s left-of-centre tailoring company, has recently entered its fourth year. To celebrate, founder David Minns offers Form some much-needed sartorial support. 62

Brown in Town

Situated below decks at the Bangshanky salon on Colston St. in Bristol, Brown in Town offers a full tailoring service making the things which tailors make; suits, jackets, overcoats, trousers, waistcoats and shirts for both men and women.

takes its name from the old adage “Never Brown in Town”, which was sartorial code for the aristocracy, meaning that one should never wear one’s tweeds (usually brown in colour and the uniform of the aristocrat at home in the countryside) into town; black or grey only!

I would say that the majority of our customers have had a similar experience as myself; they were/are suit dodgers or they aspire/desire to dress better, or in the finest finery which they can afford. Typically, there’s a jumping off point i.e. a wedding, or a coming of age or some such. Either way, we all enjoy dressing-up!

But we don’t agree with that. We believe that if it looks good on you then you should wear it! And it transpires that I was not alone in my sartorial ethos, as our books attest. And what excites me most, there is a cloth for every single individual that passes through the dressing screen at the entrance to our studio (which belonged to my great grandmother) and we embark upon a journey together to find that one cloth for that occasion or application, whether that be a wedding suit or a suit for business.

My own jumping off point was being shipped off to Bangkok by my American employers to oversee furniture production in Southeast Asia – I had recently left The Conran Shop in London and was ready for an adventure. But I got much more than I’d bargained for. Like all ex-pats, upon arrival, I was introduced to my housekeeper, my maid and ‘my tailor’?! I knew what the role of the first two was, but why on earth would I require a tailor: I didn’t wear suits! Or so I thought. But my American and Asian counterparts had other ideas. And so it was that I found myself struggling to join the dots between ready-to-wear – which most of us have grown up with and are familiar with – and tailormade, whereby you are left to your own devices to choose your own ‘cloth’ with which to have your suit made. How was this possible I thought?! But I developed quite the penchant for tailored clothes, and not just suits: jackets, shirts, slacks and many other things I have discovered over the years that are still made by hand and by craftsmen and women, such as shoes, umbrellas and ties. The list goes on. So, following my tour of duty overseas and at a crossroads in my career, I found myself embarking upon a career in tailoring which led me in turn to Bristol and then to settingup my own tailoring business. Brown in Town

Obviously, the best suit colour is the one which is most flattering of the wearer, right? For a groom, this could be anything. For business suits, this is typically limited to blue or grey, but there are hundreds of variations. And as the dress code of the workplace continues to change with such sartorial rule-breaking as Dress Down Friday or Smart Casual, men in particular have been left not knowing what to wear: should they wear what they wore at the weekend to walk the dog or wore out to dinner/clubbing Saturday night? I too shared some of the frustrations of our customers where non-suit attire was concerned – it was not long into my own sartorial journey that I started to notice that my own weekend attire was ill-fitting and I felt like a dog’s dinner. So, last year in 2016 we designed our first concept collection of garments for men to wear when a suit was not required and, in some instances, where the suit had been outlawed. We called these pieces the Custom Collection, as all the garments are fully customisable. Often inspired by our patrons’ requirements or my own sartorial quest for fashion and

function i.e. jackets which feature a plethora of pockets, for example. Or tailored shorts to wear on holiday that fit! Probably the most enduring piece of clothing of all is the jacket, so we focused on the design of this stalwart of English finery first. What we found was, without the matching trousers which come with a suit, getting the colour of the jacket right is tricky. So, we created a couple of jackets to be paired with trousers i.e. be dressed-up to fulfill the smart casual requirements, or paired with chinos i.e. dressed-down to meet the needs of those looking for something less formal. Understanding which colour trousers one is going to wear with a jacket is tantamount to choosing a cloth which is flattering of the wearer i.e. colours which are warm against the skin and do not render you pastier than an English winter. So, where possible, we will design all garments required, together: jacket, trousers and, ideally, a shirt. This ensures all the colours work together and also affords the wearer a complete outfit that can be worn with confidence again and again. If required, we will also happily look at the garments which a customer has in their wardrobes so that we can, where possible, match the cloth colours of the pieces we are making to their existing pieces. This provides versatility and increased value for money. So, if you have found your jumping off point and are at the beginning of your journey, seek out a tailor who gets the joke and shares a vision for your sartorial future. Style is, after all, a journey, not a destination! All aboard…

brownintown.co.uk

Brown in Town

Just Moon Moon Architect + Builder

Written by: Tom Brown

Images by: George Arnold

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve recently had a brand refresh and exchanged Design + Build for Architect + Builder. We wanted to keep ahead of the trend with a name that better reflects what we do. To celebrate, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had a full website redesign too.

Moon Architect + Builder

ARCHITECT + BUILDER

Moon Architect + Builder

moonarchitectandbuilder.co.uk

In House

Written by: Katie-Jane Watson

Images by: Katie-Jane Watson

Having established themselves as the go-to designers for the high street, Marcus and Hayley Walters are now launching their own brand called In House. Katie-Jane Watson caught up with them at their studio in Stroud to ask them more...

In-House

In House

Art and design duo Marcus and Hayley Walters are passionate about print and pattern. Their artwork spans a wide variety of media and techniques, often incorporating handcrafted elements such as collage, drawing and printmaking. The results are beautifully simple and enduring images which are colourful and optimistic. Over the last few years they have created artwork prints and homewares for clients such as the V&A, Heal’s and John Lewis.

Tell us about your design process, how do you get started? It all depends on what we are creating and who for. If it’s a commission for someone then we tend to start with a visual concept and work towards a preconceived idea. Our own In House projects allow us to take a more experimental approach and can play around by overprinting each other’s designs. Either way, we strive to be inventive at every step of the process and create something new and exciting. Do you have a preferred material or process? I love collage - for me, it’s a way of connecting art and design. My process starts with drawing as a way of developing the overall concept. From there I cut out the individual elements of the composition. I love the tactile nature of cutting and the resulting imperfections - quite often I will use offcuts or bits left behind in my artwork, or save them for other pieces. I love to move the elements around on my cutting mat to help compose each layer before sticking them down. Hayley tends to be more painterly using brushes and wet ink to create her elements which add a different dimension to the final prints. Do you consider yourself artists or designers? I consider us to be both. We often create one off screen prints which we exhibit - this is our original artwork and purely experimental - an exercise in colour and form. As designers we take some of these ideas and turn them into patterns or apply them to products. We love the idea of applied art and believe that our designs are a way of making our artistic vision more accessible. Plus there’s too much badly designed and drab objects in the world - if we

can inject a bit more colour and thought into people’s homes then it must be a good thing! How does your artwork translate into screen prints and products? Talk us through the process. We use the screen printing process to combine our (sometimes quite random) elements, often overprinting different layers on top of each other. Hayley prints on massive sheets of paper which we often crop to find the right piece of artwork which can then be adjusted in terms of scale or colour. It’s a really exciting process which always feels fresh and unexpected. I liken it to a visual form of the “cut-up” technique pioneered by William Burroughs. Why is the handmade element of screen printing important to you? Hayley studied printed textiles and has printed for other clients for years so it’s in her blood. Her knowledge and understanding mean that we can experiment with the print process in a way that you can’t replicate any other way. We use computers, but only as a tool, a means to recreate work using the original analogue artwork. You are about to launch your own label called In House - how did this come about? In House is really about formalising the work we have been producing for the last few years. Aside from experimenting with our own prints and patterns, we have worked with Heal’s, John Lewis and Habitat to create products. We felt it was time to pull everything together and offer our own ranges of limited edition products as well as to continue to work with retail and interior designers.

In House

How does collaboration work? How do you decide what you will be making? When it comes to commissions and working with brands we often work to a brief - there is usually a gap in a range or a space on a wall that needs to be filled. It’s the same for the products we make ourselves - there is usually a need and desire for that product in the market - but sometimes we think “that would be good as a print, or a textile design”. In practical terms we can use our own print workshop to make most products but we also work with UK suppliers for manufacturing. Tell me a bit more about your pattern work… Our pattern work usually stems from our experimental artwork - through focusing on areas or elements and then repeating. What’s exciting is that it can be a way to apply our artwork to a product. We love collaborating with like-minded brands and have a big wish list of people we would love to work with. Your work is super colourful, how do you decide which palette of colours to use? Hayley and I have differing opinions on colour - I tend to gravitate towards the brighter, more primary colours whereas Hayley uses more… sophisticated palettes. While we do discuss colour the final decision is often Hayley’s as she mixes each colour by hand - and does most of the printing! What’s next for In House? Aside from creating artworks and developing our own products we would like to continue to collaborate with other brands and designers. One of our dream projects would be to furnish and design interiors with our prints, patterns and products.

You can keep an eye on Marcus and Hayley’s latest projects at inhouse-online.com or on instagram: @inhousehome or Marcus’s illustration at marcuswalters.com or on his instagram: @marcuswalters

Images by: Mark Cains

Euro Explorer

When Mark Cains isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t designing beautiful spaces for Moon, heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s taking photos of beautiful places in Europe

Euro Explorer

Venice, Italy

Euro Explorer

Swiss Mountains

Euro Explorer

Istanbul, Turkey

Euro Explorer

Mike Neale

Written by: Tom Brown

Images by: George Arnold

Medal Winner Now a much-valued site worker for Moon, Mike Neale started out a an Youth Olympic champion in judo. He looks back at his time on the mats.

Mike Neale

What first got you in to judo? My parents introduced me to judo at the age of four, to help boost my confidence. And as time went on, my confidence grew along with my judo skills. How long did you compete for? Although I started training at the age of four, I wasn’t able to compete until I turned eight. My family and I decided to move to another club to learn the theory of judo and technique. After gaining a black belt in BJC (British Judo Council) theory, I moved back to the original club at age eight to begin competing at the BJA (British Judo Association). I then carried on to compete for 19 years at a national and international level. In this time I got to be part of the Team GB Olympic team, live in Scotland as a professional judo player, and be part of Team Bath, competing all over the world. How long was it until you realised you were good enough to enter top competitions? It’s not really about being good enough to

compete, anyone can compete. It’s being good enough to win a competition. But from an early age I was advised to compete as soon as I could. What was your proudest moment in judo? Winning the Youth Olympics and the Commonwealth Games. And also being part of the reserve team for the Sydney Olympics. The friends I made through judo are friends for life. The social side to my judo career was amazing. Winning was a part of the lifestyle, but being part of a team with the kit on was just amazing. When did you start working for Moon? After getting injured I was still competing, but I had to find a job once the lottery funding stopped in 2003/04. I started working in a pub just off Dean Lane, the Holy Cross. It gave me a different view on life, that it wasn’t all about sport. From there I went to work in different pubs where I met Mark Millar. We got on well, and after a long chat, he sponsored me to fight and also offered me a job as a labourer for three years.

After Mark got a job with DIY SOS, he put me on a dry lining course. I worked on site for a few years and then decided to compete as an MMA cage fighter. After winning my first fight I realised I no longer had my job, and I went on to join Moon. What’s next for you with judo, would you coach?  Coaching is not something I want to do. The dedication that coaches have to put into it, I couldn’t with my family. I’ve coached in the past, but it’s not something I can commit to with young children at home. You have a very sporty family. Was your father or grandfather involved in sport? My grandad was a footballer, the same as my son Jaden (Bristol City U10s) and my older son Lewis – he’s been a semi-pro player for a number of teams. But no one else in my family was sporty in the same way that I was.

Mike Neale

Moon Workshop

Written by: Tom Brown

Images by: George Arnold

Moon Makers We also want to explore the idea of pre-fabrication in order to speed up projects on site, and developing relationships with other businesses to provide cabinet and joinery products.

Moon Workshop, our in-house joinery business, has been making some big changes.

In July of this year, we moved from our St Werburghs workshop to a much bigger space in Avonmouth. Take a look around our new space. After investing in new, better equipment, we plan to make the workshop a more integral part of the Moon business, providing a wider range of services, including bespoke kitchens.

Moon Workshop

Mr Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Written by: Nic Bottomley

Images by: George Arnold

Page Turner

Nic Bottomley tells the story of how he and his wife traded law for literature when they opened their own independent bookshop: Mr Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Emporium of Reading Delights

Mr Bâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Mr B’s

a more extreme service style based around the constant availability of conversation about books - a most proactive and opinionated form of book discovery. Because the positive feedback for that approach was starting to roll in, we took the plunge when the opportunity presented itself to expand Mr B’s onto the first floor in 2008. A staircase with a stunning steep twisted handrail (perhaps the shop’s nicest architectural feature to my untrained eye) soon led up to three new book rooms where we could really ham up the very-cheap-chic “book home” look.

When we signed the lease in 2006 on what would become Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, it didn’t look much of a delight. The stained pink carpet obscuring the wooden floors encroached up the walls a metre or so to the dado rail and it had been a couple of decades since paint of any colour had been applied. There was a lot of work to do – especially as we were keen from the outset that one of the big draws of the shop would be the space itself.

Fortunately Juliette (all credit definitely to her and none to me) had a clear vision of how we might utilise our shoestring budget to make such a place, notwithstanding the ragged canvas we were starting out with. Armed with white shelves, antique tables, well-worn armchairs, a stripped down floor and carpet downstairs, we’d try to create a shop that felt more like a home taken over by books. Right down to the claw-footed bath book table in the children’s room.

My wife Juliette and I were inspired to quit our previous lives as lawyers and set up an independent bookshop after visiting the stunning Elliott Bay Book Company in Seattle during our 2004 honeymoon. Nowadays Elliott Bay has relocated to an apparently impressive slightly post-industrial looking site, but back then it was in its original Pioneer Square location and appeared to be constructed entirely out of wood and books. From the main entrance, light wood staircases seemed to disappear in every direction. Every room, corridor or landing that those stairs led to was dominated by cedar bookcases. It was a temple of books and it was populated by book obsessives on both sides of the counter.

The building itself did its bit mind you. John Street extends up from the more celebrated Queen Street (with its arch at Trim Street) and features a wonderfully eclectic parade of buildings, housing steadfast indie businesses like The Salamander, The Adam Gallery and The Firehouse Rotisserie. If only the tarmac could disappear and the cobbles beneath be revealed. In the heart of the street our building has a stunning double-frontage and No.14 in particular features one of the most bowed but beautiful shop windows in town.

Eighteen months later when we took the keys to 14-15 John Street in Bath we weren’t aiming to emulate the look or style of Elliott Bay, but we did want to create a shop that was similarly bookish to its core and that would entice Bathonians to stay awhile and explore.

It all culminates with our “Bibliotherapy Room”. This lavish looking lounge might be dominated by books but there’s also room for thick floral curtains, a mahogany table and dining chairs, a bust, two armchairs in front of the fire and a pot of coffee of course. Nowadays there’s also a side-room looking out across neighbouring rooftops which is styled as an eccentric professor’s garden reading-room (a loose homage to Professor Dupont in Quentin Blake’s “Cockatoos” picture book). Everlasting bookshop memory #2 – the new smell (even nine years later) of the upstairs rooms when their door is unlocked and pulled back on its hook first thing in the morning. Aesthetically we operate in the best retail sector. Books do furnish a room. But the truth we unwittingly stumbled on is that in independent bookselling - when you’re standing up and celebrating a physical thing in a digital world - it’s also crucial to give attention to the room itself; to give characterful space in which the books can be considered and enjoyed.

Everlasting bookshop memory #1 – the way the sunlight filters through those windows onto the wooden floor on bright weekend mornings as the first browsers hover. The other thing that inspired us about the Elliott Bay Book Company was their approach to customer service. We began with an aim to replicate their excellent service but after a couple of years that morphed into striving for

Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights 14/15 John Street Bath BA1 2JL mrbsemporium.com

Modern Room

Writtenby: Words by: Tom Joyner Ben Brown

Images by: Ben Joyner Joiner

Vintage Modernism After spending over 15 years scouring the UK for classic furniture and objects, Ben Joyner shares how the thrill of the hunt turned into a fully-fledged business with Modern Room 100

Modern Room

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Modern Room

I’ve always been fascinated with old things, seeing value in what others might classify as junk. As a teenager I spent my Saturdays trawling charity shops for the perfect vintage shirt and my Sundays at car boot sales rifling through the vinyl. I can’t walk past a skip without having a good rummage in the rubble. This love for the timeworn made a natural progression into buying vintage furniture when I moved into my first home 15 years ago. Classic 20th century pieces could still be picked up fairly cheaply in junk shops and eBay opened up a whole new virtual world to satisfy my cravings. Over time I filled up the small house with American classics like Charles Eames and Harry Bertoia, Scandinavian chairs by Arne Jacobsen, bent plywood furniture by Alvar Aalto and British design from the likes of Robin Day and Ernest Race. All purchased for similar prices to what you would spend in Ikea, but destined only to go up in value. With each piece I learnt something new about just how groundbreaking the designers of that time were. I love the lightness and simplicity of the designs, the lack of ornament and honesty of the materials used. I’m still amazed how fresh many of them look today. As the house started to resemble more of a storage unit than a home, I decided to resell items, setting up an online business ‘Modern Room’, where I offer 1930s-1970s vintage furniture, lighting and objects. Although I sell stock from all over the world, my main interest is 40s-60s British design. It is restrained but not austere, modest but often quirky – a very British take on modernism. What I love is the ingenuity and resourcefulness. Because of the scarcity of raw materials following the war, designers had to be incredibly inventive to make use of what was available – for his 1949 range of elegant

‘BA chairs’ Ernest Race made the frames from scrap aluminium left over from war planes and upholstered using fabric from RAF parachutes, the design going on to win a Gold medal in the Milan Triennale in 1954. In the 1950s as austerities lifted and optimism grew, designers and architects had a somewhat utopian view that good design could be a catalyst for change for the British people. Their vision was the democratisation of modern design, delivering high quality furniture at a price that all could afford. It is maybe ironic as many of those pieces are now highly valuable. After years of being underappreciated compared to American, French and Italian design, British mid-century is becoming more and more collectable both in the UK and abroad. Subsequently, it is increasingly hard to find high quality stock, but the challenge of the hunt is what keeps me interested, the same as it did when I was a teenager rummaging in charity shops. Just when you think of packing it all in you uncover a gem, such as a 1950s Robin Day Festival Hall chair found in a seller’s shed. Or an Ernest Rocking chair that turns out to be one of only a handful in existence (one of the others being in the V&A). Although some pieces end up being sold to serious collectors, I also source plenty of mid-priced items by lesser-known/unknown designers. Many of my customers buy simply because they love the way the item looks. They know that vintage design can add character and history to a space, working well in both traditional and contemporary interiors. And unlike the disposable pieces from a furniture superstore, vintage design will hold its value if you ever choose to sell it.

modernroom.co.uk instagram: _modern_room

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Modern Room

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ConnectedWorks

Written by: Owen Maddock

Images by: Owen Maddock

Smart Homes. Intelligent Design. Owen Maddock of technology specialists ConnectedWorks, and frequent Moon collaborator, talks us through what it takes to make a modern smart home come to life 104

ConnectedWorks

Clients are different, builds are different, the wishlist and the ways to fulfill them are different; but we face the same challenges. We need things to be extremely reliable. Nobody wants to see equipment or cabling, while the touch points and user interfaces need to be really obvious and easy. ConnectedWorks came about because we were doing entertainment systems – music, TV and cinemas – and problems kept cropping up from other areas. The network, the cameras or the lighting were either not working, or not dovetailing with our stuff. So we started a business to connect these systems together and make a seamless experience. So now the cameras are on your TV in HD, not just a little monitor, the Wi-Fi’s really good everywhere. Maybe the lighting’s a clever system – there are scenes, timed events and a control app – but it’s also on a normal light switch so everyone can use it, without thinking. And the client can have those lovely switches they saw at Decorex.

A really critical job is to curate systems – if I’m recommending something, then I’ve used it before, I know it’s really robust and I’ve often trialled it at home. Nothing goes in blind. We handpick solutions that work, and that work well together. The gadget-lovers can be on the ‘bleeding edge’ – but at home you need to relax. We make bold promises, and then we keep them – I tell everyone in the house they’ll be able to work it without any training. Some recent project highlights came while working with Moon: an eight-zone multi-room TV system, feeding Sky boxes, CCTV, Apple TV and disc player to various screens around the home, including the en-suite bathroom. Another client had terribly slow broadband, so we made it fast with 4G technology. We’ve also tidied up dodgy installs from others and made them work! But the best job is when we’re lucky enough to create cinema rooms. When you get them right you create this wonderful experience –

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the world goes away, and you’re immersed in the drama on screen. When we hand them over everyone’s watching the action, slightly open-mouthed. Except me – I’m watching you, and your kids, to make sure we’ve done it right. It’s a brilliant feeling. Cinema design is a trained discipline – a serious engineering exercise. My favourite was at Canynge Road when the kids came home from school and that was it, immersive PlayStation – I couldn’t get a word in. Brilliant. That room’s really clever – it’s a playroom, kids’ study, cinema and gaming system. It’s a great use of the space and they use it all the time. My next big project is a little closer to home. I’ve just started the design work for my son Louie’s playroom cinema. Whether he wants it or not…

connected.works

2016-17

Moon Gallery

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2016-17

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New Build

Written by: Moon

Project

195 Photography by: Marcus Newey 108

Project New Build 195

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Project 195

Just before the current owners bought the house, the previous owner undertook a significant project to extend and alter the house. The newly elongated house had little or no relationship with the garden and external spaces, and the kitchen became a narrow thoroughfare which had a poor connection to the dining and living spaces. Moon developed the brief with the client to rework the internal spaces on the ground floor and reconnect the house with its surrounding gardens, primarily to enjoy the stunning views of the local countryside. Moon designed a new timber framed and glazed extension which provided an opportunity to switch the locations of the kitchen and living room, which created better proportioned spaces that address the surrounding gardens. Large glass sliding doors allow for easy access into the newly landscaped garden, and the adapted internal openings now frame views of the terraced garden and water features from the entrance of the house.

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Project 195

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Project 195

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Project 195

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Written by: Moon

Project

204 Photography by: Brett Charles 114

Project 204

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Project 204

Our clients had re-located from London and bought a grand semi-detached villa in Clifton with a view to reconfiguring and modernising in order to provide a home for them and their three children. Although in good order, the house had been little altered since it was built - the kitchen was small and detached from the rest of the living accommodation and there was no link to the mature garden to the rear. The central focus of the brief was to re-configure the house to create family spaces that opened up to the garden and in such a way that encouraged every room to be used every day. Moonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s analysis of the house exposed that although there was lots of floor area, all the rooms felt very separate and the basement was dark and disconnected from the rest of the house. The principal change that Moon proposed was to cut out the floor and remove the walls to the ground and lower ground floors to the rear of the house, forming a large double height space. Although this reduced the total floor area, it allowed the previously isolated basement rooms to be linked with the rest of the house and transformed the entrance. The double height space links the whole house, meaning that the main family space to the lower ground floor is only separated from every other room by a single door. A large opening and a new single storey extension glazed with Fineline windows, along with the re-sculpting of the garden levels, allows the family spaces to open out and daylight to be drawn in. 116

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Written by: Moon

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The project comprised of two separate extensions. The first was centred around creating a type of space that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exist anywhere in the main house, somewhere that had great natural light and forged a connection to the garden. We achieved this by demolishing a small dark extension and opening the existing kitchen to a new extension, in conjunction with reworking the floor plan to make the existing space work harder. Expanses of opening glazing bring the outside inside and oak flitch beams create an extension that sits elegantly against the main house in its rural setting. For the second part of the project we extended the coach house to create self-contained sleeping accommodation and a gym space. The roof of the extension tilts towards the other creating a dynamic between the two, infilled with landscaping. Both extensions remain distinct in character, but with the use of complimentary materials, the two are tied together to sit elegantly against the main house, transforming how the spaces both internally and externally are used.

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Project 197

When she approached Moon, our client was in the process of relocating from a Georgian townhouse in London to enjoy her retirement in Bristol. She had purchased a non-descript bungalow in Westbury Park with a view to reconfiguring it and adding a second floor to provide a modern, open plan home. Early on in the process it became apparent that it would be much better value to take down the bungalow and start again. With our proposals, Moon looked to create a modern, open plan house that opened up to the garden. Externally it was important that the building formed the transition between the run of 1Â˝ storey 20th century houses to one side and the much grander two storey Victorian building to the other. Internally, the spaces flow together, and the clean modern interior provides a backdrop for the pieces of furniture that the client had gathered over time.

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Project 198

This very late Victorian/Edwardian house represented a challenge for Moon: to design new space that linked two existing spaces without really changing either. Bar decoration and the floor, the kitchen remained unchanged, while the dining room was rewarded with a new set of doors. The extension itself was an exercise in light, with a wall of slender steel windows and a rooflight making the inside feel like out. The external walls and roof were clad in slate, and the interior was clad in stained ply. The unifying floor extended into the existing kitchen and hallway, ensuring continuity from the front door to the back garden.

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The ground floor of the existing house lacked connections between the kitchen and dining spaces, the relationship with the rear garden was poor and the existing garage building was in need of repair and only accessible from the driveway and rear garden. The client embraced the initial architectural intention of creating a contemporary extension that visually separated the old house from the new addition, linking a new kitchen with the existing dining space, and providing large areas of glazing to create greater visual connections with the rear garden and maximising natural light levels. The addition of a raised terrace created a new external space that addressed the garden and provided rear access to the garage which has been reduced from a double to a single and converted to create a much-needed ground floor utility space and W.C. The conversion incorporates a newly clad zinc frontage which addresses the existing driveway and transforms the entrance to the house.

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The World of Moon

Get Involved Sharing our passions and discovering other people’s is in our DNA. It’s how we forge strong relationships with clients, suppliers and local businesses. And it’s why we produced this journal. Everyone featured has a connection with Moon, whether we designed them a new extension or it’s one of the guys who built it. But we’re keen to take this further: to meet new people who share our passion for creating, exploring and sharing. So if you’d like to be involved in the 2018 Form journal in any capacity, then please contact: gd@moonarchitectandbuilder.co.uk

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Architects, designers, project managers, builders, all-rounders – a collection of people who live and breathe designing and building. But we share more than this. We all have the same sneaking suspicion that builders usually disappoint people. The process is arduous; the client has to fight every step of the way for what they want. It doesn’t need to be this way. Building and making things should be inspiring and enjoyable – from the first discussion to the last brush stroke. Here’s how we believe it can be achieved.

OUR ETHOS

consider good value. It’s putting a price on design, craftsmanship, time and stress levels.

For us, design goes far beyond how something looks. It’s how it’s

Building an extension that has little design quality, uses poor

built and how it works – function and form. You need to consider

materials and does not answer the brief is not good value – it’s

the whole picture to create something great. Something that makes you proud and still works brilliantly years down the line.

cheap. Building an extension that’s considered and crafted may

The designs are only as good as the man banging in the nails. Or,

brief.

cost more, but it will also last longer, feel better and satisfy the

as we like to call them, the craftsmen. We might draw something

Moon always raises the issue of budget early in proceedings.

beautiful on paper, but without a good team of people to realise it, that’s all it will ever be.

We’ll consider your project in detail, making sure what you want

Designers and builders working together. It might not sound

We won’t pluck a figure out of the air and we won’t give you false

is achievable. We’ll then offer you solutions that fit your spend.

radical but, in industry terms, it is. And the results are telling. The

expectations.

process runs smoother, the design is more considered, the difficult

We can’t guarantee working with us will be cheaper than using

becomes more achievable. Better on every level.

the local builder in the rusty van. But we can guarantee it will be painstakingly designed, beautifully built and you’ll enjoy the

HOW WE WORK

journey.

The journey always starts with you. It’s your project, your vision. So, before we can start any design work, we make sure we know what

That’s what we consider good value.

you have in mind. We build what we design. This means we need to know it will

TO BE CONTINUED...

work. If the design is flawed or something isn’t possible, we have

As these pages testify: it’s been a busy past 12 months for Moon.

to blame ourselves. No pointing the finger while the project grinds

Not just designing houses and building homes, but exploring

to a halt. If there’s a problem, we resolve it. Because it’s just us,

the world, indulging in our passions and collaborating with other

we close all the gaps. No one wants potential miscommunication,

talented folk who inspire us.

misrepresentation or getting buried under a mountain of emails. A

And as Moon continues to grow, we hope to collaborate with more

quick chat while making coffee or an in-depth conversation in the

creative people, shaping our own little pockets of the south west.

boardroom – constant communication.

Keep an eye out for our sign…

From the off, we’re ready to go. And once the build has started you’ll find the process smooth. Our working drawings detail all your

We are the architect. We are the builder.

wants and wishes. This means our build team can get on with their work of making it all happen, with no daily meetings to decide where the light switches should go. Any issues – and there are always one or two – are quickly sorted out, redesigned and we’re off again.

R E D E F I N I N G VA L U E Budget. One small word that can cause a few awkward conversations. For us, agreeing a budget comes down to what you

If you think you’d enjoy working with us or want to find out a bit more, do get in touch. For a company with a name like Moon we’re remarkably down to earth. Please contact us at: 0117 973 3284 or 01225 312 977 info@moonarchitectandbuilder.co.uk bath@moonarchitectandbuilder.co.uk moonarchitectandbuilder.co.uk

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519 FISHPONDS RD FISHPONDS BRISTOL BS16 3AH 148

0117 965 1260

FIREBASKET.COM

mandarinstone.com

Order online at: mandarinstone.com or visit one of our inspirational showrooms: Bath Bristol Cambridge Cardiff Cheltenham Exeter Marlow Monmouth Weybridge Wilmslow 149

MAKING MONEY WORK

The Piano Shop Bath is a family business. Formed in the 1980s, the showroom has expanded significantly since then and now spans 3 shop fronts over 2 floors. The attractive Georgian premises are situated at the start of the London Road, close to Walcot Street. The London Road has benefited in recent years from regeneration funding and the showroom is nestled within this lively artisan area. Today, the business is one of the largest piano dealers in the South West, displaying over 100 pianos for a range of abilities and budgets. Our in-house workshop is managed by head technician Marc. The team have the skills to meet any challenge. The tuners’ and technicians’ work ranges from simple tuning to restoration or rebuilding. The team are currently working on the re-build of a vintage Steinway grand piano. The purchaser was recommended to the Piano Shop Bath by a renowned concert pianist. In addition to offering our traditional range, we have a fresh and exciting approach to piano design. Traditional pianos come in limited finishes. This need no longer be the case. In our hands, a beloved upright or grand piano can be transformed to complement your own

decor. As well as providing traditional restoration services, we also offer a bespoke range of painted finishes, on new and used instruments. This delivers a modern, dynamic twist whilst retaining the full integrity of the instrument. Painted pianos have already been dispatched to France and the USA. Our new website 88keys.studio clearly demonstrates the design capabilities of our skilled and committed team. This 2017 initiative is unmatched in the UK. 88Keys was founded by the Piano Shop Bath owner, Jon Kelly, who works with interior designers, yacht designers and private clients. “What we are doing at the moment is relatively modest in terms of where we can go. We are currently working on some visually arresting artist collaborations and the ‘Play Me Now’ street piano project with Luke Jerram in Bristol which is launching this Summer”. For an entry piano digital piano to a prestigious grand piano we offer a warm welcome to our showroom, which is open every day. Visit us and explore the new world of pianos. For more information: visit thepianoshopbath.co.uk email hello@thepianoshopbath.co.uk call 01225 427961

Illustration by Elisa Carolus

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‘Tailor made security solutions for home and business.’ IP CCTV INTRUDER ALARMS FIRE ALARMS FIRE EXTINGUISHERS AUTOMATED GATES MAINTENANCE AND MONITORING INTERCOMS NSI APPROVED

01173320088 www.omegafireandsecurity.co.uk info@omegafireandsecurity.co.uk 151 151

Contact T H A N K YO U TO A L L O F O U R CONTRIBUTORS, OUR ADVERTISERS AND TOM BROWN (EDITOR)

BRISTOL Moon, The Coach House, 18 Sutherland Place, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 2TZ 0117 973 3284 info@moonarchitectandbuilder.co.uk BATH Moon, 10 Claverton Buildings, Claverton Street, Bath, BA2 4LD 01225 312 977 bath@moonarchitectandbuilder.co.uk CHELTENHAM Moon, 28 Suffolk Parade, Cheltenham, GL50 2AE 01242 377 020 cheltenham@moonarchitectandbuilder.co.uk

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Smart Home

Cinema

Wi-Fi

Contact info: www.connected.works hello@connected.works 0117 214 0115 154

- 230x297 - Notoriete 2017.indd 3

07/03/2017

Kitchens and interior solutions Innovative solutions Beautiful and affordable made-to-measure kitchens with no compromise on quality or service Our address : 170-172 Whiteladies Road, Bristol, BS8 2XU Phone number : 0117 301 8888 Website : www.home-design.schmidt Email address : info@schmidt-bristol.com 155

Pizza Workshop

232 North Street

159 Whiteladies Road

Southville

Clifton

BS3 1JD

BS8 2RF

pizzaworkshop.co.uk

0117 966 9890

0117 973 8941

@pizzaworkshop

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