restoration station x yinka ilori upcycle unique furniture for LDF 2017

for london design festival 2017, yinka ilori – a london-based nigerian designer who transforms old and abandoned chairs into new pieces enriched with character – and restoration station – a not-for-profit social enterprise that uses the craft of furniture restoration to help those recovering from addiction – join forces to create a unique collection of furniture. the range references the lives of the charity’s team of volunteers, each of whom unleash their creative skills to craft their own expressive and lively pieces. ilori, who’s previous work includes ‘a swimming pool of dreams’ from london design festival 2016, ran two workshops to teach them how to express meaning with color and pattern, as well as share secrets of his own aesthetic approach.

all images credit to dan weill

‘the volunteers will each select an item of furniture from the donated pieces and the idea is for them to use colour as a catalyst to tell their stories. the workshops won’t follow a set format: when volunteers are in my studio I like the making process to be as organic as possible. any “mistake” that they make in the process could end up being the most powerful part of their narrative’ claimed yinka ilori prior to the two workshops.

the collection marks a significant change to the custom practice of restoration station, where volunteers normally apply conventional techniques to recover furniture. instead yinka ilori has helped add extra creativity, revamping broken pieces into working designs that are embellished with an experimental interplay of color and personality. in aid of supporting the recovery of people whose lives have been affected by addiction, these collaboration chairs will be on sale during london design festival 2017, at restoration station in shoreditch, east london.

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