Welcome back to ‘A Collection Of Spaces’ for 2025 with Upholsterers - Ayesha & Steph from Roads2Joya

At the start of last year, I was searching for a way to step away from the workshop for a day, find some inspiration, and learn new skills. That's when I discovered Ayesha and Steph from Roads2Joya and their upholstery workshop—so off I went!

Since then, Ayesha has commissioned me for several fabrication jobs, including stool bases and chair frames. It's been such a rewarding experience, not only learning about the intricate processes behind upholstery but also getting to know them both at their studio in Peckham over a few cups of tea.

In this episode, we dive into their journeys into upholstery, from their formal craft education to the techniques they’ve perfected working on everything from Georgian-era furniture to modern-day pieces.

We talked about the process of collaborating with designers and architects, exploring how they transform a flat 2D drawing into a piece of furniture that’s not only built to last a lifetime but can also be reupholstered by future owners.

Enjoy!

https://www.roads2joya.com

https://www.instagram.com/roads2joya/

- - -

If you would like to contribute to this series then please feel free to get in touch. I would love to see your workshop, studio, garden shed, home project or small space you call your own.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.acollectionof.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/acollectionof.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@acollectionof⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

- - -

A Collection Of. is an outlet for bespoke design,fabrication & collaboration resulting in objects for the home, outdoors or wherever your journey may take you.

Founded with the goal of producing in a utilitarian & material conscious way.

The 6th visit for ‘A Collection Of Spaces’ is with Tanguy of Varylab - Creative Studio

Tanguy & I spent the morning in his new studio space in Peckham chatting about discovering art & graphic design at school while pushing away from what felt like a formal education system on the outskirts of Geneva, Switzerland where he grew up.

He recently moved in across the corridor from me and it’s been a nice fresh element to coming into the workshop to have someone with energy in what they are creating and a focus on discovery that feels really exciting.

He moved to London eight years ago to study at the UAL Camberwell, in what seemed like a transition period for the institution and this allowed both Tanguy and his fellow students the freedom to explore processes and techniques, something which he continues in his studio today.

In recent years the direction of the studio has focused around screen printing onto fabrics while recently exploring embroidery and bag making. From buying old sewing machines, traveling to the heart of England’s fabrics mills in Yorkshire and selling his wares across Londons weekly markets.

Of course we touch on communities around skateboarding, discovering graffiti, exploring urban environments and the people and places this has opened up around the world outside of our front doors.

Listening back to conversation left me feeling inspired to really see my own workshop & studio as more than just a place for commercial projects and channel his excitement for techniques and materials, pushing just beyond the ideas or skills you current have to hand.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with myself and Tanguy from Varylab, let’s do this...

https://www.varylab.co/
https://www.instagram.com/varylab/

- - -

If you would like to contribute to this series then please feel free to get in touch. I would love to see your workshop, studio, garden shed, home project or small space you call your own.

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.acollectionof.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/acollectionof.info⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@acollectionof⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

- - -

A Collection Of. is an outlet for bespoke design,fabrication & collaboration resulting in objects for the home, outdoors or wherever your journey may take you.

Founded with the goal of producing in a utilitarian & material conscious way.

The 5th visit for ‘A Collection Of Spaces’ is with Gabriela Luna & Corina del Pinal - Fashion Designers.

Their brand Luna del Pinal is a destination-led, artisanal womenswear and lifestyle brand, designed and produced in Guatemala.

I reached out to Gabriela & Corina from fashion & lifestyle brand Luna del Punal and they invited me to their studio space in Bethnal Green. Houses in what appeared to be the old council headquarters. They had worked with Luke & Nik from episode 1 on a video & photo series a few summers ago & I’d heard great things 🙏🏻

The duo whose bright corner studio was filled with fabrics, samples and objects for their research trips.

A space surrounded by artists & painters whose studio spaces were divided up by curtains and bed sheets, something that you often see in these temporary studio before a developer takes the land back. Contrasting to an outsiders perception of glamour you often associate with the fashion world.

We spoke about their early days of building the brand in London and the journey they took to discover the artisans and crafts people they now work collaboratively with in Guatemala. A collaboration which developed from a creative soul searching trip to learn about textiles and weaving.

I learnt about the process of creating, showcasing & selling a fashion collection, what that really means and how long it takes to go from an idea in a sketchbook to an item which you can wear every day.

Gabriela & Corina are full of excitement for the processes and fabrics they have discovered from their research trips. It was an enjoyable hour spent in the studio and I hope that comes across in the conversation.

https://www.lunadelpinal.com/shop
https://www.instagram.com/lunadelpinal/

- - -

If you would like to contribute to this series then please feel free to get in touch. I would love to see your workshop, studio, garden shed, home project or small space you call your own.

⁠⁠⁠⁠www.acollectionof.info⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/acollectionof.info⁠⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@acollectionof⁠⁠⁠⁠

- - -

A Collection Of. is an outlet for bespoke design,fabrication & collaboration resulting in objects for the home, outdoors or wherever your journey may take you.

Founded with the goal of producing in a utilitarian & material conscious way.

The 4th visit for A Collection Of Spaces is with Designer - Michael Marriott.

I came across Michaels work from the Modernist Estates Instagram last year. He had a popup market stall inside the new Paul Smith shop at Borough Market and it was great to see the smaller object from his 'Wood Metal Plastic' project in real life.

As with a couple of these conversions we connected about a shared interest in local Skateparks, a place that Michael visits with his son and slowly witnessing the communities they foster.

We spent the morning at his studio / workshop in Dalston, talking about setting up the space 10 years ago, how it's evolved for him and the projects that have been made there.

We spoke about the difference between a workshop & a studio as well as between designers, makers and crafts people. This first part of the conversion wasn't recorded but led us down an interesting path about the layers of visual lenses in the way we see our surrounding be that as a designer, photographer or skateboarder.

https://www.michaelmarriott.com

https://woodmetalplastic.com

https://www.instagram.com/instamarriott2.0

- - -

If you would like to contribute to this series then please feel free to get in touch. I would love to see your workshop, studio, garden shed, home project or small space you call your own.

⁠⁠⁠www.acollectionof.info⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/acollectionof.info⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@acollectionof⁠⁠⁠

- - -

A Collection Of. is an outlet for bespoke design,fabrication & collaboration resulting in objects for the home, outdoors or wherever your journey may take you.

Founded with the goal of producing in a utilitarian & material conscious way.

Matt grew up in the same town as me and we spent a lot of our summer evenings at the local skatepark & winters under the cover of a Morrisons carpark skating & BMXing. He was from the generation above me, so I would look up to him & his group of friends who were in bands and had cars to carry ramps around town.

Jumping forward nearly 20 years and last summer I heard Matt had started a YouTube channel as a way to connect with other makers and get out of a solo working funk we all can find ourselves in.

He's built house extensions, plastered bathrooms & fitted out retail shops. Recently he has focused his craft on cabinetry & joinery for residential clients. We spent the afternoon chatting about his journey and the workshop space he has in the Bedfordshire county side.

https://www.instagram.com/wattsjoinerybarn/

https://www.youtube.com/@Wattsjoinerybarn

- - -

If you would like to contribute to this series then please feel free to get in touch. I would love to see your workshop, studio, garden shed, home project or small space you call your own.

⁠⁠www.acollectionof.info⁠⁠

⁠⁠www.instagram.com/acollectionof.info⁠⁠

⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@acollectionof⁠⁠

- - -

A Collection Of. is an outlet for bespoke design,fabrication & collaboration resulting in objects for the home, outdoors or wherever your journey may take you.

Founded with the goal of producing in a utilitarian & material conscious way.

I really enjoyed listening back to this one, as Tami has been in the space for the past 2 years and I remember visiting when they first moved and you could feel the excitement of a group of young photographers & designers all working alongside each other.

I spent a short hour with Tami at her shared studio space aka ‘Plant Face Studios‘ in Peckham. She graduated from LCC in 2020 & has quickly made her mark on the photography world in the past four years. Her work can be seen in magazines, online and recently in a collaborative book with her dad exploring memory and her Pakistani heritage.

"Tami Aftab is an English-Pakistani photographer based in London. Her work touches on subjects of intimacy, family, identity, and play."

https://www.instagram.com/tamiaftab
https://www.tamiaftab.com

- - -

References:

https://hot-potato.news/

https://www.instagram.com/agnesvita

https://gupmagazine.com/books/und-im-sommer-tu-ich-malen/

https://mackbooks.co.uk/products/ttp-br-hayahisa-tomiyasu-first-edition-fourth-printing

⁠https://tamiaftab.com/The-Rice-is-on-the-Hob-Book-Tami-Aftab⁠

https://www.instagram.com/tomboothwoodger/

https://wepresent.wetransfer.com/stories/tami-aftab-the-rice-is-on-the-hob

Its Nice That - Tami Aftab https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NU_LdQVynKM

- - -

If you would like to contribute to this series then please feel free to get in touch. I would love to see your workshop, studio, garden shed, home project or small space you call your own.

⁠www.acollectionof.info⁠

⁠www.instagram.com/acollectionof.info⁠

⁠www.youtube.com/@acollectionof⁠

- - -

A Collection Of. is an outlet for bespoke design, fabrication & collaboration resulting in objects for the home, outdoors or wherever your journey may take you.

Founded with the goal of producing in a utilitarian & material conscious way.

This is the first in a series of conversations around the topic of 'Space' starting off with artist Nik Adam. Nik is 1/2 of the artist duo Luke & Nik, we recorded this from their studio space in South Bermondsey, London.

"Luke & Nik are an artist duo based in Copenhagen and London respectively. Their collaboration started in 2007, creating vibrant, playful and dynamic photography and moving image work across the realms of editorial and commercial to personal projects."

www.instagram.com/lukeandnik

www.lukeandnik.co.uk

- - -

References:

- https://www.instagram.com/_mushroom_house_/

- https://www.instagram.com/jakewkenny/

- https://www.instagram.com/__andyprice__/

- https://www.instagram.com/arthurjcomely/

- https://tonk.ch

- https://www.richardfoster.com

- https://www.instagram.com/jesswan___/

- https://www.instagram.com/_d.wiafe/

- https://www.instagram.com/tomboothwoodger/

- - -

If you would like to contribute to this series then please feel free to get in touch. I would love to see your workshop, studio, garden shed, home project or small space you call your own.

www.acollectionof.info

www.instagram.com/acollectionof.info

www.youtube.com/@acollectionof

- - -

A Collection Of. is an outlet for bespoke design, fabrication & collaboration resulting in objects for the home, outdoors or wherever your journey may take you.

Founded with the goal of producing in a utilitarian & material conscious way.