A series of vessels, designed by GRAS in collaboration with glass artist Edmond Byrne. Each piece is hand-blown, then while still hot, the form is baptised in cold water, shocking the mineral with a crackled texture. Asymmetry, light-play and textural depth define the vessels’ character, while subtly tapered shapes ensure functionality and stability.
The Glassblower’s Vessels are now available to purchase via thegatheringhand.com, with worldwide shipping or next-day collection from our studio at Custom Lane, Leith.
GRAS collaborated with Paper Foundation on a limited-run of handmade notebooks for the sister brand The Gathering Hand.
Paper Foundation is an arts and heritage organisation, based in the Lake District, specialising in the traditional production of fine handmade papers. Working closely with Paper-Maker, Tom Frith-Powell, we composed a quiet palette of natural papers that honour the traditional craft, which takes place across several distinct acts:
Natural cloth and rags of linen, hemp, cotton and abaca fibres are a local source of material for the paper-maker. Following this initial gathering, the rags undergo a series of shredding – first by hand and then by traditional Hollander beater. The fibres are slowly broken down into a fine pulp that is suspended in water to form a semi-homogenous mixture.
The milky liquid pulp is agitated and scooped up with porous moulds that allow it to settle in thin, fragile planes. Once pressed and dried, these planes mature into strong sheets of beautiful paper.
The cover stock presents a very simple traditional paper type: linen rag formed in the James Whatman style. The fine mesh of a Whatman “woven-mould” creates a more continuous, unbroken surface. Produced in a strong, 400gsm weight, this fresh paper is then pressed and dried between handwoven felts that wick away excess water and, in-turn, impart their mottled texture on to the fresh linen rag paper. When seen under raking light, the cover quietly tells its story.
Turning past the cover, the notebook’s inner-body is bookended by fine laid-paper, produced from abaca, cotton and hemp fibres. This fine paper compliments the linen rag stock softly and presents a paper-making-method that pre-dates the Whatman moulds. Laid paper is formed on a more sparse mould type, the “laid-mould”, that imprints its grid of wires onto the paper. Lifting the paper reveals this fine lattice of grid lines and, on occasion, the inclusion of watermarkings. The infinity mark, denoting papers of strength and longevity, is present on a handful of these books.
A small number of this edition is now available to purchase on The Gathering Hand website—thegatheringhand.com with free UK shipping, worldwide shipping, or next-day collection from Custom Lane.
During London Design Festival 2022 at Blue Mountain School, GRAS presented The Gathering Hand, the first collection of furniture and objects created in collaboration with leading European makers. Three product typologies emerge from tactile and evocative materials, shaped through a combination of traditional and contemporary techniques including bespoke joinery, mouth-blown glass and bead-blasted stone.
The processes celebrate the artisanal skills of our collaborators: Studio Corkinho, Namon Gaston and Edmond Byrne. The result is a series of sensory, functional tables, vessels and objects.
The pieces are available to purchase via thegatheringhand.com, with worldwide shipping or next-day collection from our studio at Custom Lane in Leith.
A series of three tables merging scorched cork with beautifully crafted oak. The two materials—siblings of the Quercus plant family—come together in a balanced expression of tactility, nature, durability and tradition. Made together with Studio Corkinho, each cork tabletop is fired prior to pressing to bring out an earthy brown base. The surface then undergoes a heat-treating process, applied by hand, which intensifies the tone and texture. Finally, a matte bio-varnish is applied for protection. The cork’s depth and subtle complexity emerges as light passes across its surface.
The oak bases are constructed with housed tenon joints, beautifully executed by skilful carpenter. The oak is smoked for 24 hours before hand-assembly and final oiling.
The The Carpenter’s Tables are made to order. To enquire email info@thegatheringhand.com
The Gathering Hand is derived from GRAS’s five decades of passionate, hands-on creation, historically in the fields of conservation, architecture and interiors and from the practice interest in interdisciplinary design. Through The Gathering Hand, GRAS celebrates the innate human drive to make.
A family of objects expressed in elemental forms—cylinders, disks, hemispherical cuts—as an ode to the simple stone slab. The edges of the Portland stone are delicately softened by the bead-blasting processes and in turn the material’s surface expression is highlighted. A considered shadow gap under the Vase and Bowl elevates the volumes ever so slightly. The continual, hemispherical slice of the Bowl creates a gentle concave cradle for fruit or mementos; its bare surface mingles beautifully with passing light. The paired cylindrical Weights hold a level of ambiguity, their usefulness spanning limitless occasions.
GRAS debuted The Gathering Hand collection with an exhibition at Blue Mountain School during London Design Festival 2022. The Carpenter’s Tables and the Stonemason’s objects are made-to-order. For sales or exhibition enquires please contact info@thegatheringhand.com The Objects are now available to purchase via thegatheringhand.com, with worldwide shipping or next-day collection from our studio at Custom Lane, Leith.
HRBR is a custom-built retail display designed for the reception of Custom Lane, a gallery space and café located in the harbour district of Leith. The project takes its name from the surrounding area, drawing a quiet connection between the object and its context within Edinburgh’s historic working waterfront.
The design follows a modular system, developed through the multiplication of standard cabinet dimensions. This approach allows the display to be easily reconfigured, adapting to different scales and types of content. Open trays and moveable shelves invite a layered play of transparency and shadow, while the weight and geometry of the oak base units provide a strong visual and structural anchor.
Crafted from naturally ebonised oak with reflective satin-brass framing, the piece balances texture and precision. The dark matte timber gives depth and richness, while the brass components bring moments of light and contrast. Together, these materials shape a freestanding object that is minimal and flexible in character.
HRBR was developed in close collaboration with Edinburgh-based designer and maker Daniel Brophy. It functions as both furniture and exhibition infrastructure, supporting a curated programme of products, artworks and materials from across the Custom Lane community. The project reflects an ongoing interest in modularity, clarity and the dialogue between design and making.
A single cord or rope is passed through tubes of varying lengths, cut and arranged to create a triangulated shape, and is pulled tight so that the cord is acting in tension and the tubes are compressed.
The route through the tubes is planned so that it can be accomplished in one pass without doubling back and is then used to lash a surface to the frame. We refer to them as ‘Himmeli inspired tubular structures.’
Designed in collaboration with architect Nicholas Groves-Raines, this composting area and garden store is conceived as an organic extension of the surrounding garden. Its form grows naturally from the woven edging of the garden paths, drawing inspiration from traditional basket weaving and hazel hurdle techniques. The structure is crafted using woven reinforcement bar and weathering Corten steel, creating a tactile and sculptural presence within the landscape.
The design embraces a five-ton boulder situated on the site, incorporating it as a central element that anchors the building within the garden’s topography. Positioned at the furthest corner of the garden, the structure provides a focal point for visitors and offers interest to walkers along the adjacent Water of Leith Walkway.
The project exemplifies how craftsmanship and materiality can transform a functional element into a distinctive architectural feature that responds sensitively to its context.
Photographs copyright Dan Farrar.
