This is the first post in a new column by Kate Brewer, founder of Look Like Love, in which she will profile a different new designer every week. With the tagline “support, nurture, promote” echoing confessions of a design geek’s own “discover, champion and inspire” and a similar commitment to advocating for emerging talent, it was only a matter of time before we’d find a way to work together, so I am delighted to welcome Kate to the editorial team here at coadg. Watch out for her features every Thursday afternoon. Her first designer? The super-talented Samuel Bellamy…
It seems that many degree courses have turned a corner in terms of teaching the importance of being business-minded and the commerciality in designing products, and this is certainly true of Sam Bellamy. Having already won awards for his graduate collection ‘Moroccan Lamps’ at May Design Series and New Design Britain 2015, Sam has been steadily building the foundations to launch his graduate collection to the buying public.
It’s hard to believe that Sam only graduated from Nottingham Trent University last summer. With a BA (Hons) in Furniture and Product Design, he speaks with an air of confidence befitting a well-seasoned design professional. A self-proclaimed perfectionist – a classic designer trait – Sam has experimented with intricately perforated metal to create a series of angular pendants. Combined with a traditional filament bulb, the warm glow throws Moroccan-style shadow patterns, which was central to Sam’s inspiration. What’s interesting about Sam’s process of working is the fact it’s not about the final product, or the final form it takes, but the light effect that is created. One only works with the other in this instance, a marriage of modern design and traditional elements.
The final collection has been designed in three scaled forms which can work alone or as a cluster, in a classic metallic finish, or in a series of powder-coated colours. It was important to Sam that the design, as well as the manufacture had its roots firmly in the UK, giving him the ease and ability to fulfil a range of personalised options to suit every customer’s requirements. And having made the move from Nottingham to London last year, Sam has just secured a studio space in North London which will now be the home of Bellamy Design.
Taking the decision to pursue a career in design can in many cases be an unpredictable and precarious journey. There are certainly no guarantees that your passion will become the path you were destined to take, but in Sam’s case, his stand-out graduate collection, as well as his confident and professional approach, looks set to secure him as a major design talent of the future.
To find out more about Bellamy Design, and to purchase pieces from the ‘Moroccan Lamps’ collection, visit Look Like Love.
I love love love these lights and the glow and reflections they give off!