Faye Toogood is a design chameleon, expertly navigating roles in the fashion, interiors and product design industries. With a warm, inviting laugh, she speaks to Love That Design about her journey in sculptural creation and the resilience and self-belief that has brought her here …
“Having not trained in design, I feel like I’ve got no rules. There is no particular way of predicting my approach, like what materials I’m going to use, what projects I’m going to work on, or even what genres I’m going to work in,” reveals a cheery Faye Toogood. She is a British designer and founder of Toogood, a London-based interdisciplinary design studio. Faye credits her distinctive perspective to her education in art history. Though contemporary designers today might find the subject irrelevant, objects and art from before the twentieth century have taught Faye everything she knows. She attributes her leanings in composition, symbolism and the incorporation of colour to this foundation. True to her style and personality, her practice is also fluid and refuses to be categorised. The Toogood label specialises in everything from interior design to fashion, fine art to homeware. As the woman behind the label, Faye excels in reinventing herself and her products for different eras and audiences.
Her official creative start began in the early 2000s with her sister Erica, a seamstress by profession. While Erica was on a break after working in fashion for many years, Faye teamed up with her on a little project, a collection of coats inspired by various trades. This venture later accumulated into Toogood, their clothing label of renowned acclaim. “Growing up, siblings have their differences as well as a sort of synergy, an unspoken way of working”, Faye explains about the sibling bond that she draws upon, as they work together on fashion projects even now.
Ceramics then, was a natural progression of her inclinations. With a keen desire to democratise design and stay globally relevant, Faye then committed to investing in moulds and manufacturing, so that her ceramics could be produced for consumer-friendly prices. “I love the fact that when you get here, there is something for everyone,” she says happily about her latest ceramic collection.
Incidentally, the relationship that began with the ceramics factory led to the development of her celebrated furniture pieces. A few are now classified as iconic and displayed in various museum collections. Commenting on her foray into furniture, Faye says, “The ceramic stools that we have been working on came as a consequence of working on the tableware. So I quite like that in a way. It’s taking me on a journey.”
This journey was pivotal in the creation of the Roly Poly chair, perhaps her most well-known piece. Roly Poly is a fibreglass stool with a smooth rounded seat supported by chunky legs. Inspired by motherhood, the chair was launched in 2014, as part of her portfolio Assemblage 4. Each chair is made to order and hand-cast in moulds by a small-scale British manufacturer. The stool received cult status, but Faye says it took nearly three years for the idea to first take off. During this time she debated selling her idea to other manufacturers, a decision she never regrets not making. “Particularly with furniture, you learn that something can be too early. Everyone’s not ready for it. But luckily I kept it. Roly Poly is like my child, and although the child has grown up, it will always have a special place in my heart. It genuinely represents a part of design history and I love it for that.”, she reflects.
Faye Toogood is backed up by a studio team, whom she fondly calls the Misfits. She encourages her staff to work in different product sectors, not limited to the disciplines they have been trained in. “Within our studio, we invite people to push the boundaries of what they’re working on. We shuffle designers around, so they’re not working in a copy-paste method or end up like a cookie cutter, producing the same thing too often,” she clarifies. For Faye, this seeming inconvenience is an exciting technique for her employees to see their potential and contribute to the overall studio without inhibition.
Collaboration with other designers has also worked wonderfully well for her. “Birkenstock and Carhartt have been amazing collaborations for the studio because we pushed ourselves further while working with them”, exclaims Faye. Working with other designers, especially those new to the business never hinders her, but rather serves as functional experiments that propel her forward.
To such upcoming artists, Faye advises, “Of course, there’s no magic technique. But you have to have drive and be open to opportunities. It comes down to your personality. You have to believe in yourself, or you’re not going to get there.”
Faye is a firm believer in self-belief and dedication to understanding your aesthetic and approach as a design practitioner. This exploration takes time, she agrees, especially for confidence to be built up. That’s why she also encourages new designers to work for other people, experience the world and be the vehicle for someone else’s vision for a while. Experiencing the vision coming alive through another’s artistic eye allows for the development of courage, particularly necessary alongside hard work and dedication.
Revisiting the case of the Roly Poly chair, she mentions, “Its success wasn’t manufactured overnight, and was quite misunderstood before it took off everywhere.” Having now understood that process, and the fuel it produced in her to create work of a similar nature, Faye continues to be enthusiastic and optimistic in her approach to the future. “Can I do that again? Maybe I can, maybe I can’t. But I’m going to keep trying until someone tells me that I’m not relevant anymore.”
Article:
Date added:
20 February, 2024
