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FRONT 100% design ––– Benchmark Founder Sean Sutcliffe talks to Bryony Hancock about his craft values, and reflects on how the furniture company has evolved since its first appearance at 100% Design in the 1990s I/ P E T R K R E J C A N G U S T H O M A S : ICON: You exhibited at the first 100% Design, held at Earl’s Court. Did the fair have an impact on your career? Sean Sutcliffe: In those days, 100% Design was the bedrock of the London Design Festival. It had critical mass; there were no other satellite shows, so it was 100% Design or nothing. It was a breath of fresh air, almost like bringing a mini-Milan to the UK. For Benchmark it was our first public platform – we’d had ten years of making furniture for restaurants by then, but we were only known within our group of existing clientele. ICON: What led you to Sir Terence Conran, and to found Benchmark? SS: I met Terence as a mature student at Parnham Furniture College in Dorset, where he was a visiting lecturer. We got chatting and after I said that I wanted to set up a workshop, he suggested using the empty stable block where Habitat used to be. Initially, we did prototyping for the Conran Shop, Mothercare and Habitat. Then, I wanted to have a business of my own, so Terence and I formed Benchmark. ICON: Benchmark was a pioneer of sustainable design. How did you implement this? IMAG E S SS: When I was a student in the early 1980s, people didn’t talk about sustainability. But I was lucky to encounter Jonathon Porritt, head of the Green Party. Since then sustainable timber sourcing has been a central tenet of the way we work: it’s the old hippie in me. It’s also important to sell your green credentials to your staff. Only after working with companies like the Eden Project did our staff say, ‘Oh, that’s good business, isn’t it?’ When sustainability makes business sense, you can convince your team it’s the way forward. ICON: What is the importance of craft and artisanship in the contemporary world? SS: In our Western world people have far too much September 2018 17 ABOVE OVO dining table, benches and sideboard, designed by Foster + Partners

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FRONT

100% design –––

Benchmark Founder Sean Sutcliffe talks to Bryony Hancock about his craft values, and reflects on how the furniture company has evolved since its first appearance at 100% Design in the 1990s

I/ P E T R K R E J C

A N G U S T H O M A S

:

ICON: You exhibited at the first 100% Design, held at Earl’s Court. Did the fair have an impact on your career? Sean Sutcliffe: In those days, 100% Design was the bedrock of the London Design Festival. It had critical mass; there were no other satellite shows, so it was 100% Design or nothing. It was a breath of fresh air, almost like bringing a mini-Milan to the UK. For Benchmark it was our first public platform – we’d had ten years of making furniture for restaurants by then, but we were only known within our group of existing clientele. ICON: What led you to Sir Terence Conran, and to found Benchmark? SS: I met Terence as a mature student at Parnham Furniture College in Dorset, where he was a visiting lecturer. We got chatting and after I said that I wanted to set up a workshop, he suggested using the empty stable block where Habitat used to be. Initially, we did prototyping for the Conran Shop, Mothercare and Habitat. Then, I wanted to have a business of my own, so Terence and I formed Benchmark. ICON: Benchmark was a pioneer of sustainable design. How did you implement this? IMAG E S

SS: When I was a student in the early 1980s, people didn’t talk about sustainability. But I was lucky to encounter Jonathon Porritt, head of the Green Party. Since then sustainable timber sourcing has been a central tenet of the way we work: it’s the old hippie in me. It’s also important to sell your green credentials to your staff. Only after working with companies like the Eden Project did our staff say, ‘Oh, that’s good business, isn’t it?’ When sustainability makes business sense, you can convince your team it’s the way forward. ICON: What is the importance of craft and artisanship in the contemporary world? SS: In our Western world people have far too much

September 2018

17

ABOVE OVO dining table, benches and sideboard, designed by Foster + Partners

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