Meet the Maker... Andrew Carvolth
Andrew Carvolth, 401 Pendant Lights for jam Australia, photograph by Josh Geelen.
Craftsman and designer Andrew Carvolth’s practice is defined by a reappropriation of traditional making processes. Designing the 401 Pendant Lights for jam’s latest collection, we sit down with Andrew to discuss his creative processes and his take on Australian design.
Tell us a bit about your background, how did you get started in furniture design?
Originally from Canberra/ Queanbeyan I studied Furniture at the ANU School of Art. Growing up, Dad was pulling me out of school to go to work with him as a refrigeration mechanic whilst mum was signing me up for dance classes responding to John Olsen paintings at the NGA. I grew up in a household of people either doing things with their hands or having an appreciation for those kinds of things.
I had very supportive figures along the road that lead me to design and furniture making - family, friends and mentors. Some of them held my hand and others kicked me up the backside but I guess they all got me to where I wanted to be, working creatively with my hands.
“I had very supportive figures along the road that lead me to design and Furniture making, family, friends and mentors. Some of them held my hand and others kicked me up the backside but I guess they all got me to where I wanted to be, working creatively with my hands.”
Andrew in the JamFactory Furniture Studio.
Available in two sizes, the 401 Pendant Lights showcase the material properties of cast aluminium.
You designed the 401 Pendant Lights for the new jam collection. What was your inspiration behind this piece? How do you approach the creation of a new object?
The inspiration for the 401 Pendant was to highlight the raw material properties of cast aluminium. It is a process and material finish I really enjoying seeing and working with.
The pendants are made from cast aluminium, how did you come across this technique and can you explain a bit about the making process?
Casting metal was first introduced to me while working in conservation under mentor and good friend Greg Peters. The furniture we worked on was adorned with cast details and we would have castings made from time to time.
Foundries are a big part of South Australia’s manufacturing history for a whole range of different industries and I’ve enjoyed working with different foundries in sand casting since my time at JamFactory - the process of creating sand moulds off patterns or plugs and pouring molten metal into them to create an object.
As Head of JamFactory’s Furniture Studio, as well as having your own design practice you must be pretty busy making! How do you like to wind down or spend your time when you’re not in the studio?
In all honesty though I think of myself as a spring held under constant tension between one challenge and the next, I find relaxation in rituals; cooking, antiquing, restoring old tools, visits to the central markets, spending time with my partner Danielle and returning video tapes.
The notion of an Australian design aesthetic is varied and multifaceted. What does Australian design mean to you?
We’re a country of creators, where people respond to their needs with what the land offers, and often in isolation. It’s about having a great deal of respect and understanding of materials, without necessarily working with them in a conventional way.
401 Pendant Lights on show at Melbourne Design Week.
Andrew Carvolth
Andrew Carvolth is the newly appointed Head of Furniture at JamFactory. Defining himself as both craftsman and designer, he has established a successful design practice creating speculative exhibition work, commissions and edition objects. Carvolth’s practice is defined by a reappropriation of traditional making processes and associated materials, primarily timber, and attempts to capture a uniquely Australian vernacular.
jam furniture, lighting and accessories are available online and in store.