The Trade Show

An event with Faye Toogood for LDF

Returning to the Brompton Design District during London Design Festival (LDF), Faye Toogood invited Bill to take part in a unique collaborative project, called ‘The Trade Show’.

Bringing together 50 of the leading creative forces in the country – from architects and product designers to artists and photographers, Toogood presented each with a special edition of her signature Spade chair, crafted in sandcast-aluminium. In return, each participant donated a representative piece of their work, drawing on the centuries-old tradition of artists supporting each other through mutually beneficial barter.

For the show, BAS produced a special edition of its classic Rivet stool. Handmade at our workshops in north-west London, the stool is made of a single, beautiful piece of 5mm British cowhide. The leather is folded and secured in place by hand-set copper rivets to produce a versatile and robust item of furniture, with no internal structure beyond the leather’s own capacities for weight-bearing. “As a studio, we are always exploring new ways of using leather, but we’ve found that its capabilities structurally are often overlooked,” says Bill. “The rivet stool is an example of our experiments in this area.”

“I’ve always admired the way Faye works with materials and structure – so simply, but so completely. And this rivet stool for me is a good example of our shared interest in this area of design.”

The Trade Show has been a celebration of the habit of collection, and all pieces were presented at The Brompton Garage exhibition space in South Kensington between 16-24th September.