Benchmark selects first Fixperts Resident - confessions of a design geek

This article was published 11 years

Kingston University graduate Maya Alvarado has been selected for the first Fixperts Residency and will spend the next year aligned to a master craftsman at British furniture maker Benchmark’s workshop, solving problems.

Alvarado, who will be writing a weekly column for confessions of a design geek documenting her experiences, was selected by a panel including Benchmark co-founder Sean Sutcliffe, Fixperts co-founder Daniel Charny and Isle Crawford.

“I was absolutely over the moon and I couldn’t really believe I had been chosen,” she told coadg. “I celebrated with a lovely walk up Stickle Pike! And then I could really started imagining the best methods to connect with the community and begin planning the year ahead.”

Fixperts is an voluntary organisation run by curator, educator and designer Daniel Charny and Sugru’s James Carrigan, with the aim of using design to co-create open-source ‘fixes’ that improve people’s lives, in collaboration with the end users. The residency at Benchmark is the first of its kind. “I really believe in what Fixperts is doing,” said Sutcliffe. “This might be the most important thing I do in my career.” Alvarado will be looking for fixes inside Benchmark’s workshop, in their local community and further afield.

The young designer graduated from the Product and Furniture Design BA at Kingston University earlier this year, a course she describes as being centred on research and “speedy” prototyping. “It is an effective method of development,” she said. “Unrealistic ideas can be spotted quickly and only the worthwhile ideas pursued. It contributes to an effort to produce really meaningful designs in a sustainable way.”

Her work to date has been focused on finding improvements to everyday objects, such as a colander-grater for small spaces and a scheme to allow pirate radio stations in regions without digital radio signals. She has also worked with Fixperts before. “I worked on the 2012 pilot led by Rebecca Davies at Kingston University,” she said. “We worked with a visually impaired lady called Alena to design a device that would allow her to thread a needle, something she found impossible with existing devices. It was fantastic to work with a FixPartner’s specific needs in mind and to have the opportunity for prototyping, user testing and direct feedback.”

She has continued to be involved with Fixperts, working with them on design fairs and school programmes and said that the residency seemed like the “perfect next step,” enabling her to learn from the experts within the Benchmark workshop. “The user-centred projects I have been involved with so far aimed to fix an issue at hand, and the residency is all about seeking out more of these issues and tackling them on a bigger scale.”

The selection panel chose Alvarado from a shortlist of six, saying, “Alvarado stood out for her inquisitive attitude and awareness of finding solutions to social issues through intelligent design. Her curiosity in experimentation and enthusiasm to engage with the experienced and passionate team of craftspeople [at Benchmark] sealed the deal.”

Speaking the night before her first day in the role, Maya said, “It is my first night in my new home in Hungerford, a town very close to the Benchmark grounds, and I await the first day of the residency. I will pack my bag with useful tools, a sketchbook, pens and a camera, and I can’t wait to begin my research.”

Maya’s column, A Day in The Life, starts next Monday.