As detailed in my last post i said i would use this blog as a showcase for my furniture designs (amoungst other things) as i have found out that designing a website and running one is very expensive. A lack of funds (well im wanting to spend what money i do have on wood and tools) has meant I am using not only twitter (www.twitter.com/eastdesign )but this online area to get my designs noticed by hopefully the right people.

So the first design I am going to highlight is the most popular of my designs, the 'scape' mirror series. I came up with this idea about a year ago while wanting to come up with a mirror that did more, whilst taking inspiration from clean lined modernism buildings/designs.

I made the aesthetic link directly to the function. To do this I came up with the idea of having the protruding mirror section consist of magnified mirror while the mirror in the frame was conventional mirror glass. This in turn segmented the functional elements of the design in an aesthetical way. I imagined this mirror to be located in a hall way or traditionally a bathroom.

While researching this project I had a very hard time trying to find some magnified mirror glass and still to this day I am still hunting, as many companies will only sell this glass in large 2metre by 1metre sizes. So unless I have a large run on these mirrors I am having to revert to normal mirror glass and not lead with the dual functional element of this design. I was at first worried about this as I have wanted the mirror to be dual function from the beginning. But after several comments from people online and local galleries I feel the aesthetical quality of this piece shines through and is still a unique design that people want in their homes.

 I made several prototypes, which played with overall proportions and protruding mirror size before deciding on the final size. The frame work I have made from various hardwoods including beech, chestnut and American white oak (pictured).

These woods were chosen for their modern look and timeless appeal. But I can see this working very well with walnut or sapelle hardwoods. The construction uses modern, contemporary butt joints reinforced with dowel pins. The mirror is then slotted into one end and traditional mirror glue is then used to secure it to the concealed baton system inside the frame. This can then be hung directly onto the wall through predrilled holes on two sides, so it can be hung land'scape’ or portrait.

There are two variations of this design the other being with the mirror protruding from the bottom rather than the side (see photo) whilst in the prototype stage I played around with the finish of the wood and decided on a traditional wood seal followed by a wax as this gave a nice matt finish which I think matches the contemporary feel of this design. 6mm mirror glass was used not only for strength but I wanted the mirror (which is quite a large part of the design in terms of surface area) to proportional match the thick wooden frame. So this ratio is kept to a minimum.

I am currently making four of these mirrors for a local gallery to display and hopefully sell. This has subsequently given me great confidence in my designs. The gallery also liked a lot of my other designs so long term these could also be displayed. So in a sense I am very pleased that someone believes in my designs and likes them. This mirror is also on display on several portfolio websites, including www.hiddenart.com www.coroflot.com and this mirror can also be bought on www.stylisticgallery.com

I have plans to make these mirrors bigger proportionally and maybe not a mirror but a notice board with different stained woods or statement black and white frames.