July 2008

Bute@eca Exhibition

Monday 4 August to Friday 29 August 2008, 10am–5pm Monday-Friday. Free.
Edinburgh College of Art, Product Design Department, 3rd Floor, Evolution House, 78 Westport, Edinburgh.

As part of the range of Edinburgh Festival events at Edinburgh College of Art (eca), the Product Design Department and Bute Fabrics are proud to present bute@eca, an exhibition of upholstered, prototype seating designed by 3rd year students.

Building on an established and ongoing relationship between Bute Fabrics and eca, the eleven students participating undertook a project to design and manufacture upholstered seating, catering for the high street market for sofas, and using fabrics personally selected from the Bute contemporary range. The results are highly innovative and distinctive pieces showcasing the talents of the students and the quality of Bute’s wool and wool-blend upholstery fabrics.

The project was set to offer students an opportunity to assess and reinterpret the iconic upholstered three-piece suite. The brief specifically required them to design and manufacture a single seat that would accompany a two-seater sofa priced at £499. The students could choose from three target audiences for their design - young couples, empty nesters, or single professionals. .

Works from the exhibition will be available for sale. The exhibition is curated by Mark Hale, Lecturer, Product Design.

Bute Fabrics, based on the island of Bute off the west coast of Scotland, is regarded as one of the UK’s premier manufacturers and suppliers of high quality wool and wool-blend upholstery fabrics.

The 3rd year students of the Product Design Department in eca, represent one of the UK’s foremost departments for furniture and product design.

For publicity images, interview requests and further information:
Catherine Bromley, Press Officer, Edinburgh College of Art.

T 0131 221 6089

E cbromley@eca.ac.uk / press@eca.ac.uk