ED ON DESIGN

“I couldn’t be less interested in fashion,” says Ed who designs with not just one lifetime in mind but generations. “If a design is right and well- executed, then it is never out of fashion, and it will remain unchanged forever.”

In recent years, Ed has removed himself from a busy retail shop in Arrowtown to his home studio for the opportunity to design in peace. While he loved the interaction of a bustling small town, he found he was thinking about design in terms of what would sell rather than what he wanted to create. Most of his work is bespoke, with pieces for private homes as well as corporate commissions. He is currently in his second year creating a significant board table for a large Sydney corporation. The company chose Ed after seeing him embed stories into his work. Since 2010, Ed has often incorporated braille in the steel frames of his pieces as a kind of secret code between craftsman and commissioner. This started with a commission from art patron David Teplitzky, who invited him to contribute to an exhibition called

Roundabout (initially shown in the Wellington City Gallery, then in Tel Aviv). Ed’s piece, 1821 table, made from 108 pieces of walnut and gun blue metal (paying homage to the 108 invited artists) also incorporated Martin Luther King’s words in braille: “I have decided to stick with love, hate is too great a burden to bear.” In its use of walnut and gun blue metal, traditionally used to make firearms, Ed’s table spoke of peace, tolerance and communication.

“When I feel I am on the right path, I am struck not by a feeling of my skill but of a universal energy and intelligence. When we detect timelessness, we are connecting with this universal matrix. Call it god, or spirit or nature or truth, but it is a fleeting connection with something eternal and beyond description and beyond possession.” edcruikshank.com