Max Lamb

I was born in St Austell, Cornwall in 1980, living predominantly on pasties, sand and sea water – an upbringing that gave me a zest for nature, outdoor activities
and creativity. Inspiration grows from my desire to explore and re-contextualise both traditional and unconventional materials, exploiting their inherent qualities, and to consider / reconsider the function of all products and objects. I aim to design products that are fun, inspired and inspiring, and stimulate positive interaction between product and user. Interaction develops product meaning and meaning improves product longevity. I try to design products that possess a visual simplicity capable of communicating the obvious. I graduated from Northumbria University in 2003 with a 1st class Degree in Three Dimensional Design. As part of my Degree I designed a variety of furniture pieces including a bookshelf, a collection of eleven stools and a bench, a laminated cardboard chair and a birdtable. My shelf design ‘Bookend’ won the International Design Award 2003 sponsored by Hettich, and in conjunction with ‘Mr.Stools’, I received the Peter Walker Award for Innovation in Furniture Design at New Designers 2003. After graduating I worked as a design consultant for Ou Baholyodhin Studio in London, where I became accustomed to all aspects of the design business. I designed furniture, graphics, and interior products, as well as entire interior spaces for restaurants, shops, exhibitions and private domestic interiors. Simultaneously, driven by my desire to one day establish my own design practice, I continued to develop my own range of products and furniture. In 2006 I completed my Masters Degree in Design Products at the Royal College of Art. Here I explored further creative and intellectual possibilities in furniture design and established a concise, process driven approach to design. Most recently I have become very interested in exploring and combining the potential of disappearing local skill-based industries with rising high-tech processes. This interest has been reinforced by trips to China, India and Nigeria, where an abundance of skill, need and potential are apparent in equal measure. I have
always been a keen traveller and my interest in local and globalised cultures is of huge influence to my work. Beyond design I am at home in the great outdoors; the mountains for their extreme natural beauty, for walking, biking and snowboarding, and the coast simply because it is an amazing place to be.

Exhibitions
2007 October - Decompression Chamber - Northern Gallery of Contemporary Art,
Sunderland, England.
2007 October - Design Mart - The Hub, Sleaford, England.
2007 September - 100% Futures - Earls Court, London.
2007 September - Deptford Design Challenge - Royal Festival Hall, London.
2007 August - Max & Hannah Lamb - Godolphin House, Cornwall, England.
2007 June - Sacrifice and Investment - Design Miami/Basel, Switzerland.
2007 April - Top Ten - British Council, Milan, Italy.
2007 February - Design Mart - Design Centre North, Barnsley, Yorkshire.
2007 January - Inspired by Cologne - Imm Colgne, Germany.
2006 December - Max Lamb & Robert Phillips - Canary Wharf, London.
2006 September – Design Mart – Design Museum, London.
2006 June – The Show 2 – Royal College of Art, London.
2006 April – Made by Machine – Milan Design Week, Italy.
2006 March – Made in Nigeria – Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Nigeria.
2006 March – Y-Series (ISOS Collection) - Furniture Works, London.
2006 February - The Greenhouse - Stockholm Furniture Fair, Sweden.
2006 February – Made in Nigeria – British Council, Lagos Nigeria.
2006 January - Y-Series - The Furniture Show, Birmingham NEC.
2005 June - The Shop - The Royal College of Art, London.
2005 May - Launch 2005 - The Castle Keep, Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
2005 April - Salone Satellite - Milan Design Week, Italy.
2005 February - The Greenhouse - Stockholm Furniture Fair, Sweden.
2005 February - ISOS Collection - Furniture Works, London.
2005 January - ISOS Collection - The Furniture Show, Birmingham NEC.
2004 December - Work in Progress Show - The Royal College of Art, London.
2004 September - Design UK Selection - Gainsborough Studios, London.
2004 August - Made in Newcastle - Hamals Design Shop, Newcastle upon Tyne.
2004 May - Pulse - Earls Court, London.
2004 April - Salone Satellite - Milan Design Week, Italy.
2004 April - Design London - Superstudio 13, Milan Design Week, Italy.
2004 March - The Show ‘04 - Furniture Works, London.
2004 February - The Greenhouse - Stockholm Furniture Fair, Sweden.
2003 November - New Designers - Urban Interiors, Commonwealth Institute, London.
2003 September - Max Fraser’s Design Pick of 2003 - Gainsborough Studios, London.
2003 July - New Designers 2003 - Business Design Centre, London.
2003 June - Degree Show - Northumbria University, Newcastle.
2003 March - The State I’m In - Northumbria University, Newcastle.

Awards
2007 January - nominated for ‘Designer of the Future’ - Design Miami/Basel.
2003 July - The Peter Walker Award for Innovation in Furniture Design.
2003 May - Winner of the Hettich International Design Awards ‘04.