Designing tomorrow: how a 3D printer could change the future of interior design
Alexandra Bellamy discusses weird objects, the future of spatial design, and developing a brand with meaning.
“I’ve always been intrigued by weird objects” Alexandra Bellamy (who goes by Ally) says as we take a seat in a secluded room deep inside Somerset House. The room, aptly named “The Dungeon”, is a soundproofed, stone-clad area which is found within the art gallery’s Makerversity community.
Ally is an acomplished creative and UAL graudate with a BA in contemporary fine art and an MA in spacial design. “I put an application in for the interior and spatial design […] literally like two days before the deadline”, she says her successful application indicated that she was on the right path, and she has never looked back since. “It was it was kind of like one of those little, like, universe signs like ‘you’re going in the right direction”.
Ally is a member of Somerset House’s Makerversity group which invites creatives of all disciplines to use the space as a joint studio. Ally’s desk, which we have vacated in order to seek privacy in “The Dungeon” is easily discernible among the co-working space due to the vibrant objects which cover the shelves. They are mesmerising; like melted gold, copper, and water — solidified while in the height of motion.
Ally is the picture of elegant creativity as she settles in opposite one of the beautiful items that had surrounded her desk. “I think objects can really capture our attention”, she says, motioning towards the glowing realisation of her creativity which sits in the centre of our table: a sustainably made, 3D printed flower vase.
et.al home is Ally’s newly launched sustainable homeware brand which aims to “revolutionise conventional objects”. They have just launched their first range, “viva”, which contains four versions of the vase in different sizes: mini, medi, grande, and grace. The vases are made from recycled plastic which is 3D printed to form the vessels. “It’s essentially like getting technology to help us create things that we couldn’t otherwise create”, she says, “it was so mind boggling to set the 3D printer going and six hours later there is a tangible thing”.
Sustainability and mindful consumerism are concepts that feel integral to et.al’s brand ethos. “I didn’t feel like I could venture into the design space without having it as a strong kind of current. There’s so much excess material, especially in plastics and there are some amazing companies doing amazing work collecting all of this plastic and reforming it in a way that people like me can use it and recreate it into other things.” Ally adamantly tells me that ethical usage and sustainability are embedded into every step of the creation process, “this material is sourced from a company that is collecting waste and then reforming it into filament for 3D printers. There’s plastic bottles and food trays, things that would otherwise go into landfill or be discarded.”
Ally is the epitome of an entrepreneur, currently working three other jobs and somehow finding the time to nurture et.alinto the elegant example of what the future of 3D interior could be. I ask what her favourite thing is about the vases: “I never get bored of looking at them, especially when they are filled with water and the light shines behind them”, she says, eyes on the bright blue vessel in front of us, “this one always goes a light bright blue. It’s really really beautiful.” Genuine love and pride are evident in her tone, and I can’t help but fall in love with the vase too. It is more than a vessel for flowers, it is art in itself, a piece of architecture that has a story, and a sustainable one at that. “I want people to be able to buy an object where they can be thinking about not just how beautiful it is, but also where it has come from, what the use of materials signifies.”
However, Ally doesn’t see her approach to design as something revolutionary or unthinkable, “I think [sustainability] is something that should be inherently part of the process […] sometimes it’s tempting to be like ‘save the oceans from plastic’ and be a real eco-warrior just in order to promote a brand, but this is more about it just being inherently part of the way we should be thinking about design.”
The next step of et.al’s journey lies in the hands of the public. “There is a misconception that you can put something that you think is really cool out into the world and people will come flooding towards you but it’s very rare that that actually happens”, she says. It is evident that she harbours some apprehension when it comes to putting her designs out into the world. “It’s incredibly exposing, there is so much of me that’s gone into this”, she says. And it’s true, the vase that is sitting on the table, demanding attention and awe, is so authentically Ally: a combination of art, design, spatial awareness, and sustainability which make it so unique and necessary. Ally’s designs demand to be seen and heard for the beauty they hold and the stories they tell.
Browse the full viva range here and follow @et.al.home on Instagram to keep up-to-date with this promising brand.
