Forge Creative & Money For Nothing

Yesterday we were featured in Series 3 of Money For Nothing on the BBC, if you missed the episode, then take a look on the BBC iPlayer. We bought a beautiful sideboard created by Oliver & Josh from Forge Creative. Their work is really stunning and we were thrilled to get the sideboard, which combines old and new. The carcass of the sideboard is made from Birch Ply giving the sideboard a modern feel which, is then offset by the stunning reclaimed oak sliding doors brimming with character on the front of the cabinet. To see the Sideboard made by Forge Creative from the show on Such & Such, click here. [caption id="attachment_8160" align="alignnone" width="760"] Oak Sideboard created by Oliver & Josh of Forge Creative from the series Money For Nothing[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8161" align="alignnone" width="760"] Oak Sideboard by Forge Creative available at Such & Such[/caption] [caption id="attachment_8162" align="alignnone" width="760"] Oak Sideboard by Forge Creative available at Such & Such[/caption] This is the third time we have taken part in the BBC series, Money for Nothing. The program, presented by Sarah Moore, is all about rescuing items destined for the skip and transforming them, with the help of creatives and designers & makers, into new pieces. It is quite amazing watching these random pieces headed for the tip being brought to life by various different makers. In the first series we met Forest + Found who created a series of wooden items from a very rotten and almost unusable wooden post, to find out more read Our Makers post here. We wanted to learn more about Forge Creative and so we caught up with Oliver & Josh to find out about how they came to set up the business, what inspires them and what they have planned going forward.

Q&A with Oliver & Josh from Forge Creative

How did you get to where you are today?

Josh fell into furniture making at college and then got a job making Japanese style furniture and fitted pieces. Although he enjoyed the craftsmanship element he wanted to be able to design and work more on his own style of furniture.

In the mean time I had done a BTEC in 3D design and then a degree in communication design. After this I got a job working as a graphic designer for a natural health-care company. I got into graphic design because I wanted to create things but I found myself in an office sitting in front of a computer with a very small amount of creative freedom. One day I was thinking about how I could work my way up in advertising to a more creative graphic design job but realised I really didn't have any desire in trying to sell products I had no interest in myself. I started thinking more about my future and decided what I needed, more than a well paid job, is to have a job that is enjoyable.

Josh and I have been good friends for a while, one day we were talking and realised we were both on the same brainwave, both wanting more from our jobs. So we decided to team up and set up our own company.

I think that by having enthusiasm, creative thinking and a belief that setting up our own business was something we could achieve, we have managed to get to where we are today.

What are you currently working on? We've just delivered a metal frame shelving unit with wood and glass shelves. On the workbench at the moment we have a walnut hifi unit and next week we are beginning work on a fancy cedar bee hive.

Can you describe a typical working day for you?

On a normal working day we get in to the workshop for 8:30/9 and usually start by tidying yesterdays mess. Then we'll get stuck into a project and try and get some stage of it done before 10:30 coffee break. Commissioned projects make up the bulk of our work but we will also have orders from web customers and stockists to complete. On top of that other jobs include, keeping the website and social media updated, replying to emails and sending out quotes for future work. It's just Josh and myself so it's a wide range of roles we take on each day. [caption id="attachment_8163" align="alignnone" width="760"] A bespoke wood wall created by Forge Creative for a bespoke commission. Image via Forge Creative[/caption]

What is the most exciting thing that has happened since you founded Forge Creative?

One of the most exciting things to happen since we started Forge Creative was the chance to be involved with BBC's Money For Nothing. This ongoing series gives us the challenge of transforming unwanted items from the tip into valued furnishings. It's been great opportunity to market Forge and show our creative skills.

Who, where and what inspires you?

I think we draw inspiration from all sorts of places and sometimes you don't know where an idea has come from. A starting point for a design could come from something as simple as a material or process we want to use. In terms of other design, we are quite inspired by clean, modern, Scandinavian style. There's also two makers that really inspire us: Pat Kim design and a company called Kneip they are both verging on art more than products but use shape, form and textures to create really interesting pieces.

What do you use everyday that you wish you had designed?

We really admire this little bronze block plane by Lie Nielson. It's a tool we regularly use and one of our favourites. What makes it so special is that it is so well designed, carefully crafted, and fits in the palm of your hand perfectly - it's such a pleasure to use! We aspire for our creations to be of an equally high standard that they give our customers the same sense of satisfaction.

What can we expect in the future?

The future of Forge Creative is exciting and also fairly unplanned as we never quite know what we'll be asked to do next. What we do know is that we will continue to design and create things we love and that hopefully others will too.

[caption id="attachment_8164" align="alignnone" width="760"] Handmade Wooden Tree Ornaments by Forge Creative. Image via Forge Creative[/caption]   A huge thank you to Oliver & Josh at Forge Creative for taking the time out from the workshop to tell us a little more about what they do. To see all their work head over to their website, Forge Creative.

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