Fred Rigby
Fellow makers led the designer to his ideal premises, which he envisages as a gathering place for not just his own work, but that of his talented friends too
Climb the stairs to the sun-filled first floor of Fred Rigby’s new studio space and you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d walked into a well-appointed loft apartment. ‘Having done lots of research and seen plenty of showrooms, I really wanted to create a home-fromhome feeling,’ says Rigby. ‘People can touch and sit on the furniture, which is something we’ve not had before, so we wanted to curate the perfect environment for it to live in.’
After graduating from Kingston University 15 years ago, Rigby immediately moved to Hackney, and it’s in London Fields where the two-storey Victorian property that now houses his furniture and interior-design practice is located. Once a cabinetmakers’ workshop, more recently it was home to contemporary pottery studio Kana London and independent homefragrance brand Earl of East. ‘I knew them and when their lease was coming to an end, they very kindly gave me a call,’ explains Rigby. ‘Property like this just doesn’t come up in Hackney anymore, and to find a standalone building is almost unheard of. When I took it on, there was lots of metalwork and plywood, but I wanted to create something more in keeping with the building’s heritage. So we used a lot of tongue-and-groove panelling and I bought some beautiful old Victorian doors on eBay that have now been put in place. We also worked with Nordic Knots for the rugs, then Cassandra [Ellis], the founder of Atelier Ellis, really understood where I was trying to take it, so we’ve used some of her incredible paints which fit the brief.’
The result is a sophisticated, relaxing space that Rigby has filled with books and pieces from his own collection as well as from a host of considered brands, all of which are available to buy. ‘We’ve partnered with lots of galleries over the years, including Francis Gallery in Bath, Cadogan Gallery, Flow Gallery and MAH [Modern Art Hire], and fortunately we often become friends, so it’s been great to pull some of their pieces together here.’
‘Downstairs is our design studio and workshop where we sketch, develop, prototype and make a lot of our own products, but upstairs is also somewhere we can get away from the computer screens, invite clients in, pull books from the library, be creative and just throw ideas around.’
In the future, the plan is to host events, from talks with talented designers to DIY workshops and, to coincide with the opening, the studio is also launching its very first homeware collection, which includes vases, lights and mirrors. ‘Whether its galleries, restaurants, winemakers or whoever, I really want to get people through the doors and build a sense of community,’ says Rigby. ‘It will be an ever-evolving space that will enable us to welcome more people into our world.’ fredrigbystudio.com
➤
‘Property like this just doesn’t come up in Hackney anymore,
and to find a standalone building is almost unheard of’