FX Awards 2018 Winners
Product designer of the year
Winner: Jennifer Newman
Sponsored by The Bold look of KOHLER
Jennifer Newman’s story covers her transformation from being a successful abstract painter to becoming a brand name in the London furniture design scene, with her own studio/showroom in Clerkenwell. The skills set she brings to furniture design are different to those of product designers and furniture manufacturers and her furniture pieces stand out as being bold, colourful, and confident with a distinctive sculptural quality, much appreciated by architects and other specifiers.
Jennifer Newman Studio’s pieces aren’t precious – it creates expertly crafted, contemporary furniture that withstands life in dynamic indoor and outdoor environments including canteens, terraces, break-out spaces and buzzing creative studios. Quality materials, vibrant colour and beautifully engineered details are at the heart of what it does.
‘People say that my designs are like pieces of sculpture. I think that’s true – but they go beyond that, I hope, to be incredibly useful and practical too,’ says Newman.
Since formally establishing her business in 2008 Newman has used her innate instinct for colour and form to create furniture that is simple, rigorously balanced and timeless. The first range came about because she couldn’t find outdoor furniture that was simple yet really well made. So she decided to create her own. Now, having produced collections for the home and contract markets (including Nike, Virgin, Microsoft and Google), Jennifer Newman Studio has blossomed into a family affair with her two sons and husband involved in her buzzing Clerkenwell business.
