SIX DOTS DESIGN
Six Dots Design, based in North London, founded in 2020 by designer and artist Joseph Elwood (Royal College of Art). Focused on creating bespoke, handmade furniture and interior objects, primarily in aluminium, Six Dots designs pieces that, with their whimsical, organic and unique expression, are meant to spread joy in any home.
Q&A
Who is behind Six Dots?
My name is Joseph Ellwood. I founded Six Dots Design in 2020. I grew up making anything and everything, I learnt to weld at 14 and have since turned what was my childhood hobby into my career. I studied architecture for my undergraduate degree but never really felt like it was my ‘thing’. I then met a tutor who was a furniture maker as well as an architect and went to work for him. It was under his guidance that I learnt to make furniture professionally and found a real passion for it. Straight out of university I set up Six Dots and was initially making furniture for friends and family before I started getting real commissions.
How do you see the movement of collectible design and functional art developing in the future?
I get the sense that people are enjoying being expressive with their interiors more and more but there seems to be a gap between what people aspire to have and what they actually are able to achieve. I hope that collectible design is somehow able to bridge that gap further and expand the design and furniture industries to meet the consumer need. I hope to see more independent studios working at the scale of fashion houses.
You seem very socially conscious about affordable design. Which challenges do you meet in pursuing this? Can independent designer pieces be affordable for the general public, but at the same time make a profitable business?
This is a really great question and its one that I am still trying to answer. I think ‘affordable’ is a relative term, I now prefer to say I offer excellent value. I think that the way I work offers really great value to the consumer because my process enables me to offer my work at a lower price point compared to my peers. I really believe that everyone should be able to express themselves through the objects and furniture they own so making sure my work is priced in a way that reflects its quality without being unattainable is really important. The price point of my work is also key to making my business profitable. It is about 6 times cheaper in time and materials for me to make 10 pieces rather than one, by making my work less expensive, I can sell in higher volumes and therefore have a profitable business.
What projects are you currently working on?
I am very excited to be working on some pieces for Collectible fair with Tableau in March as well as a new collection of objects that will be launched in April. I am also working on a very exciting show that I can’t really talk about yet in September!
How did the transition from wood to aluminum as the main element of your pieces come about?
In 2021 I started a masters at the Royal College of Art in London, whilst I was there I learnt a lot about design and art practice. Having worked as Six Dots for a few years without getting much traction, I wanted to use what I had learnt at the RCA and conceptualize my practice so that I could understand what I wanted my work to be about, who I wanted to sell to and how I was going to make everything work together. I had been asked by a client to design a set of outdoor chairs the year before my first aluminum collection was launched and found that laser cut aluminum was a relatively affordable material and process, it would also enable me to make pieces in about a 10th of the time it was taking me out of timber. The process, material and a more defined aesthetic gave me guidelines for my first collection. I found working with metal to be a much more joyful and free experience and so I haven't really gone back to timber.
