Zoe Murphy Design specialises in bright, bold pattern inspired by seaside pride. C reatively u tilising second hand furniture, Zoe applies original screen-printed graphics onto the existing surface, thus restoring the pieces both inventively and responsibly. The hand-drawn patterns and colours inspired by Formica-clad cafes and neon amusement arcades draw their inspiration from Zoe’s seaside hometown of Margate, Kent.
Everything in the hand-printed furniture collection aims to deliver the message - ‘love what belongs to you’. Alongside being featured in the upcoming instalment of Material Matters, we caught up with Zoe for Design Life to find out more about her creative process and what inspires her…
"Everything starts with my Filofax. It's neon pink leather (!), and is full of colour and stickers. Any job I am going to do gets scheduled into that and I use it like a mini bible of activities – I can’t be without it!
"I’m a bit of a stationary geek, and like to draw or write with pens of all different colours and shapes. Lots have doughnuts on the end, or a gold zebra, and I make sure I have a solid stash of calligraphy pens even when I’m taking notes or sketching. It’s important to me to make things attractive and inspiring even when initial ideas are being born.
"Colour is a huge part of the work that we make at the studio. When we are picking shades or matching colours to a palette I work a lot with my hands and little pots of paint. I like to mix them together in the palm of my hand and daub them onto slips of white card, it might all sound a bit messy but it ends up being the quickest and most intuitive way of putting together a spectrum for a piece."
"Wood is my favourite material by far. I trained in printed textile design, so I’m used to working with porous surfaces and natural fibres, but having something that is also solid and constructed to work onto remains an exciting element for me. I can stain, dye or print onto wood much like a textile, but then create something firm and functional out of the components."
"I’ve paired with some fantastic retailers and institutions over the years, and collaborations with Liberty and G Plan sit near the top of my list for projects that I’ve loved. However, I’ve recently been able to pair with Dulux on some of their exciting trend events and last year’s exhibition during Design Week involved me creating a special interpretation of one of their colour stories. I loved the opportunity to really celebrate the narrative of a colour theme, and to make pieces with Dulux – a name I grew up with – was something I was very proud of."
"I’ve always been interested in the idea of using design as a force for change. I look up to designers such as William Morris with the arts and crafts movement for his historical work in providing jobs and skills to suffering communities during the Industrial Revolution. If I could time travel I would love to have been able to be involved in the kind of work that they were doing at the time, I feel it is still relevant today."
"I’m working on a collection of pieces to display in a show that I’m putting together with a Brighton-based photographer for May, and am really looking forward to the opportunity to show my work next to his colourful film reels. Showing each year at Tent London is always a real calendar highlight for my studio, and we are planning some exciting collections to launch at this year’s event."
Discover more at www.zoemurphy.com .
