Boiled-leather products by Simon Hasan
A range of products made from boiled leather by designer Simon Hasan is on show at the Royal College of Art Show Two in London, which closes tomorrow.
Hasan has so far applied the process to make a range of vases and two stool designs, Bambi and Twist.
He stretches and wraps the leather around wooden moulds before immersing it in boiling water.
The process, an ancient technique once used to make armour, alters the tannin and collagen fibres in the leather and results in a rigid material that becomes the only structurual support for the objects.
The legs of the Twist stool (below) are made by twisting the leather around tubes, which are removed once the material has hardened.
The hollow seat of the Bambi stool (below) is made from a single piece of leather to demonstrate the rigidity of the material.
The following text is from Hasan:
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Vase Family
Hand-stitched boiled leather, resin, acrylic
The use of leather bottles, blackjacks and bombards in the 16th & 17th centuries was the starting point for this ongoing investigation of process, form, and craft.
The contemporary reverence for leather is rejected in favour of a more brutal approach, which sees the material boiled and stretched to achieve compelling forms and rigidity. Hand stitching and brogueing are combined with industrial patent finishes to explore how traditional techniques can be freed from the staid world of bespoke leathergoods.
Each vase is unique, as the moulds are disassembled following each production.
Bambi & Twist Stools
Boiled Leather, Steel
The self-supporting Twist stool only contains a ring frame in the seat, which is necessary to hand-form the leather over, before boiling. The structural integrity comes from the processed material itself.
The Bambi stool is based upon industrial steel sections and is formed by wrapping leather around moulds before boiling. The mould is removed after processing, so that a hollow seat remains.
A bar stool and chair version of Bambi is in development.
