BA Product and Furniture Design student Maria Gil wins Fast Track prize following an unforgettable placement year
- Written byGeorgina Lampen
- Published date 17 November 2023
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The BA Product and Furniture Design course at Chelsea College of Arts places a strong emphasis on hands-on craftsmanship within the design production process. During her Diploma in Professional Studies, which sees students take up a placement year, student Maria Gil took these skills into the workplace and had the extraordinary opportunity to collaborate with the fashion company House of Errors. Using a wide range of design production skills gained during her studies, Maria designed and produced a chair for a client, while gaining hands on experience running the business.
Receiving recognition for her work on the chair, Maria was then selected as the recipient of the Fast Track prize at the Young Furniture Makers Exhibition.
It has been a busy year for Maria, and we were fortunate enough to catch up with her for an interview to find out more.
Hi Maria! Can you tell us a little bit about you, your practice and how you came to study BA Product and Furniture Design at Chelsea College of Arts?
I always dreamed of studying design abroad, but the school curriculum in Poland, where I’m from, didn’t offer any design or art education, so getting a place here was a real challenge. It was a huge achievement for me. Now that I am here, I am perpetually trying to get the most out of the facilities and opportunities UAL has to offer; one of which is the Diploma in Professional Studies, also known as a placement year.
How did you find your placement for your Diploma in Professional Studies?
It all started with me following a fashion brand online called ‘House of Errors’. I was in love with their designs, but they were way out of my price range. One day, however, they hosted a competition where you could win one of their famous vests, all you had to do was create something inspired by the brand. I quickly came up with a chair idea which transformed their signature all-seeing eye motif into a 3-dimensional sculptural piece of furniture. I submitted a quick sketch and a model, and I ended up winning the competition. What’s more, the brand owner reached out to me directly and said he would love to have the chair made for his studio. I then took this opportunity to ask if I could do a placement year with them and build the chair as part of it. He agreed and the rest is history.
How do you feel like this experience has helped you as you look towards a design career?
As well as designing the chair, I was also working for ‘House of Errors’ as a studio assistant and later even manager. Since it was a small company, I really got hands on with every single aspect of running a business, despite the fact it is a fashion company, whereas I’m studying to go into furniture. I gained experience in customer support, production and distribution management, website administration, accounting, quality assurance, employee management and more. The experience I took out of this placement is unparalleled and especially valuable since in the future I dream of opening my own design studio.
Can you tell us more about the chair you designed?
The completion of the chair was harder than I ever thought it was going to be. It was an incredibly complex geometrical calculation to establish the exact construction, and as it was my placement, I had no familiar support from tutors or technicians. It was my first professional project for a real client, in a busy work environment. There were multiple competing priorities as the assisting of running the business was the main responsibility. The chair was crafted, not in a workshop, but in an office, and so I only had access to basic equipment. While working on the chair, I realised it was an incredibly complicated design, however having faced all these obstacles, I learnt not only carpentry or upholstery, but also the importance of project management skills.
What makes it even more rewarding is that the finished design attracted a lot of online interest and purchase enquiries, which sparked conversations with ‘House of Errors’ about producing more pieces for sale.
House of Errors posted about the completed chair on their Instagram page.
Congratulations! You recently won the Fast Track prize at the Young Furniture Makers Exhibition. How did this opportunity come about?
I had visited the previous edition of the Young Furniture Makers Exhibition and since then, I knew I wanted to participate in it at some point in the future. It’s an exhibition for design students and recent graduates to showcase their work, make connections with the industry and even win some awards. After completing the chair on my placement, it seemed like a natural move to apply. I was very excited to be chosen as one of the exhibitors because every time I would catch up my friends during the placement year, all I would talk about was the current stage of the chair, so now I was able to show them the exact thing in person.
How did it feel to be chosen as the winner?
It was very emotional for me. Considering the designing and making of the chair was a physical and mental challenge for me, it was so moving and rewarding to see my work recognised. Spending that moment surrounded with my friends, tutors and family who visited the exhibition, made it an unforgettable memory and made the entire journey so worth it.