Henry Holland's debut furniture collection "embraces the wobble"
London designer Henry Holland has unveiled his first furniture pieces, handcrafted from wiggly ceramic spheres, amorphous mohair seats and patinated bronze.
The launch marks Holland's first foray into furniture, following the designer's move from fashion to ceramics in 2020.
"This is a capsule collection of statement pieces featuring sculptural forms that combine a graphic playfulness, all anchored in meticulous hand craftsmanship," explained Holland, who runs the Hackney-based Henry Holland Studio.
The five-piece collection follows a similar bold style to the studio's existing ceramics and homeware.
Among the furniture is a spindly chair characterised by an amorphous mohair seat and backrest supported by patinated bronze contorted into a twiggy frame.
Decorative glazed orbs were threaded through the frame like beads, made using nerikomi – a Japanese pottery technique adopted by Holland to create all his ceramics, which involves stacking coloured clay before slicing through its cross-section to reveal a zebra-style marbled pattern.
"The bronze frames are hand-forged and bent to reflect both the organic patterns on the surface of the ceramics, but also as a nod to our 'embrace the wobble' design ethos," Holland told Dezeen.
The designer hand-cast the chair's petite "pebble feet" using a stone he collected while scattering his late mother's ashes on a Welsh beach, in homage to her.
A squat, caramel-coloured pouffe offers a rounded antidote to the spindly chair, anchored by a trio of oversized ceramic spheres also made using nerikomi.
The pottery technique "means that it's almost impossible to achieve exact measurements and sizing every time," acknowledged Holland.
"This presents both a tactility and uniqueness, but also some challenges when trying to incorporate the ceramic elements into other pieces like metal or wooden structures to create things on a bigger scale," he added.
"Rather than try to correct this, it's become a central part of our design ethos, and we have tried to reflect this within the silhouettes and designs of the pieces themselves," said the designer.
The collection's side table is supported by a stripy tower of nerikomi orbs, topped with a handmade ceramic slab finished in the same pattern and supported by a puddle-shaped bronze base. The table comes in green or white hues.
Similar to the chair, the console table iwa made from a spindly bronze frame threaded with clusters of red and white marbled orbs.
The coffee table – the final piece in the collection – was also adorned with nerikomi spheres and crowned with interlocking bronze and ceramic slabs that form an asymmetric table top.
"We have had great success with our lighting collection, so furniture felt like the next step for us as a studio," said Holland.
"Our goal is to build a whole world through the studio – from table tops to lighting and furniture – and this collection is just the next step in us building that world."
The furniture collection will be unveiled today on Mount Street in London's Mayfair, as part of the Mount Street Arts Festival that runs until 18 October.
Holland was originally known for his now-defunct fashion brand House of Holland, which he founded in 2008.
He was part of the judging panel for the 2025 Dezeen Awards, the results of which will be announced in November. The designer spoke to Dezeen about his multifaceted career earlier this year.
The photography is by Milo Hutchings.
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