Credit: Jaime Curá
At Futon Company, championing design talent and creating stylish, practical and well-made products are central to our values. That’s why we’re excited to support GREEN GRADS as its latest sponsor, joining an industry cooperative of forward-looking, responsible brands.
GREEN GRADS is a collective of recent graduates from UK Universities, all dedicated to finding innovative solutions to heal the planet. Founded in 2021 by award-winning design journalist Barbara Chandler and co-director Michael Czerwinski of Studio Tucktite, the initiative has grown rapidly. By the end of 2024, the scheme will feature 200 GREEN GRADS on its website. These graduates, spanning disciplines from art and design to crafts and architecture, focus their projects on tackling critical global challenges. Their work addresses issues such as nurturing nature, inventing sustainable materials, designing for longevity, reducing waste, restoring and repairing, recycling for a circular economy, capturing carbon, conserving energy and fighting pollution, among others.
Dates for your diary
Discover some of the exciting projects from GREEN GRADS at their dedicated YouTube channel or at one of their upcoming events:
17 – 20 October 2024
Victoria Baths, Manchester, M13 0FE
This event will feature 23 graduates, with a strong emphasis on hands-on craftsmanship. One participant, Aaron Mighty, a furniture maker from South East London, is committed to simple, sustainable design. His Splits and Spills collection of stools is crafted from locally-sourced Brown Oak and greenwood (Oak and Hawthorne) foraged from nearby woodlands, and finished with Osmo, a natural wax/oil.
Another featured graduate, Grace Arrowsmith, leads the GREEN GRADS WOOL HUB. A sixth-generation farmer, Grace will present her Flock portfolio, showcasing wool samples sourced from her own farm. She has washed, carded, felted and digitally embroidered the wool with Lyocell thread, producing beautiful, sustainable fabrics. Grace’s family farm spans 1,040 acres, with 1,000 ewes and 60 cows. Her mission is to promote British wool as a valuable and sustainable resource.
Credit (from left): Aaron Mighty and Grace Arrowsmith
GREEN GRADS at Yorkton Workshops
16 – 17 November 2024
1-3 Yorkton Street, London, E2 8NH
This event will focus on bio-design, with over 20 graduates presenting cutting-edge eco projects that explore the intersection of nature, materials, process, waste and repair.
Credit: Helena Powell
For more information about GREEN GRADS and to stay updated on current and future projects, visit greengrads.co.uk or follow them on Instagram @greengradsuk.
