Young designers are changing the shape of our homes and gardens

Angharad McLaren, 31, Textile Designer

Angharad McLaren Textiles (07850 006460, www.angharadmclaren.co.uk)

WHO: With clients ranging from hip fashion brand Mother of Pearl, to the award-winning Shetland Museum, Angharad is kept very busy at her studio in creative Glasgow hub, The Briggait.

Having studied at both the Glasgow School of Art and the Royal College of Art in London, she graduated in 2006 and combined work in weaving mills with exhibiting everywhere from Hong Kong to Paris. Thanks to funding from innovation organisation NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) and the Scottish Arts Council, she then set up shop in Scotland and in 2009, went on to win an award for the most promising new designer from leading design magazine Blueprint.

Today, as a keen sailor and rock climber in her spare time, her work brings together a modern, sporty aesthetic with a wealth of technical, cultural and historical inspiration. A self-confessed textile magpie, she gathers fabric from wherever she travels – from Welsh blankets to examples of Mayan Backstrap weaving – but always looks to home and traditional textiles she’s grown up with as her main source of ideas.

Conscious of flying the flag whenever she can, all her designs are developed on the hand operated, computerised loom in her studio and produced in short runs at local mills. Yet, despite the traditional backbone to her work, her creations are anything but staid. “Technically I explore a dynamic combination of handcraft skills, modern technology and industrial processes,” she says. “I love neon colours and three dimensional structures and have a bit of an obsession with ropes.”

Signature style: contemporary woven designs in a series of mood-lifting brights.

Career highs: her quirky product range of accessories and gift items being snapped up by editors’ favourite e-tailer www.notonthehightstreet.com. “I designed it during a six month residency in the Shetland Isles where I was surrounded by tweeds and Fair Isle knitters, and spent all my spare time walking on windswept moors, rock climbing around the coastline and fishing off the village pier.”

What to expect in 2012: “My ultimate goal is to build a creative design business which will employ local design talent of the future,” she says. Until then she’s focused on a collaborative project with graphic designer Emlyn Firth, and the cashmere company Johnstons of Elgin. They were among the winners in the ‘Scotland Can Make It!’ competition to make unique Scottish souvenirs for the Commonwealth and Olympic Games. The designs are being kept a secret for now, but expect her range of gifts and sporting accessories to be exhibited and sold by September.

John Galvin, 31, Furniture Maker

John Galvin Design (07795 123903, www.johngalvindesign.co.uk)

WHO: When asked to sum up the extraordinary year that was 2011, it’s little wonder that John has difficulty in knowing where to start. Instead, the Irish-born, Glasgow-based furniture designer excitedly rattles off a list of achievements – which includes work for some of the biggest brands in the business – at an alarming rate.

With his talent for applying traditional cabinet making skills to contemporary design, first up was a commission at the end of 2010 from Highland Park to design a presentation box for their 50-year-old single malt whisky (which launched exclusively at Harrods). Next came a commission from Wallpaper magazine to collaborate with award-winning Nord Architects to design a furniture collection which was showcased in their acclaimed Handmade exhibition during last year’s Milan Furniture Fair.

It was such a hit that he went on to become the new name to know at September’s London Design Week at the same time as he was enjoying the buzz of being part of last year’s Scottish architectural success story – the Shingle House – with his simple yet striking bedroom furniture.

But though his star has risen exponentially in the last 12 months, his story is not one of overnight success. Having studied furniture design and construction as an 18 year old at the Glasgow College of Building and Printing, he worked for various cabinetmaking firms before setting up on his own in 2008. Once independent (he currently has his own workshop in Clydebank), he was free to dream up his own designs such as the Soldier Table (inspired by a memory of playing soldiers as a child), and more recently, the Manolo Lounger chair.

“I like to think of myself as a furniture artist,” he says of his work. “I am inspired by Scandinavian designs from the 1950s and 1960s and names such as Hans J Wegner (famous for his love of natural materials and a knack of combining the functional with the beautiful) and Finn Juhl (regarded as the father of Danish design)”.

Signature style: from one-off commissions to his own designs, John is known for creating handmade, hand-finished “functional art” with a retro Scandi twist. Every piece also has a strong eco-bent. Relying on sustainable timbers (predominately hard woods), he avoids hazardous lacquers and instead uses eco-friendly paints and traditional Danish oil.

Career highs: John has a much-coveted Trada Wood Award for Outstanding Craftsmanship for his Manolo Lounger chair. Inspired by a high heel shoe designed by Manolo Blahnik, the result is his interpretation of the thin stiletto heel and feminine curve of the shoe – in order to avoid any 90 degree angles it incorporates five different jointing techniques in its construction. “Every cabinetmaker’s skill is judged upon their ability to produce a beautiful but comfortable chair so I wanted to create something that would stand the test of time as a piece of functional art,” he said of his entry in what is Britain’s leading architecture and furniture competition.

What to expect in 2012: next year is set to be as big as 2011, with a solo exhibition at Manchester’s Cube Gallery (one of Europe’s leading architectural and interiors spaces) and his lighting and seating designs set to be picked up for production.

Susanne Barnes, 31, Interior Architect

Ampersand Interiors (0131-557 6634, www.ampersandinteriors.co.uk)

WHO: With a talent for sizing up a space in seconds, Susanne Barnes is the newest recruit at Edinburgh’s Ampersand Interiors. Combining the discipline of interior design with architecture, she grapples with the nuts and bolts of an interiors project whether it’s moving a wall, creating a kitchen or masterminding the hard finishes of a house.

It was as an architecture student at Newcastle and Edinburgh Universities that Susanne tapped into her passion for designing the interior fabric of buildings. “From 2001 to 2003, I worked for CR Studio architects in New York whilst studying for my degree,” she says. “They pushed the boundaries in terms of using innovative materials. We used subway grills instead of ceiling panels and clad walls with denim jeans, and it opened my eyes to the kind of work I wanted to do.”

After she graduated, Susanne was snapped up by London-based design firm, Artillery, which focuses on large scale commercial commissions. She learned to manage a project from concept to completion, including the construction of offices in Norman Foster’s One London Wall development.

A move to the prestigious Helen Green Design saw her enter the high-end residential market. Involved in multi-million-pound projects for a host of private London clients, she designed everything from a chalet in Val d’Isère to the firm’s four-storey Chelsea flagship store and head office.

Relocating to Edinburgh in 2009, Susanne embarked on an ambitious project all of her own: converting a one-bedroom property in The Grange into a three-bedroom home. She is now looking to put her stamp on the Scottish market.

Signature style: “I hate interiors fads so I would say my look is timeless,” she says. “Whether I’m helping to design a traditional country home or a sleek minimal office I don’t want my client to have to redo it in two years’ time so my focus is on giving each room an elegance that will endure.

“There are two secrets essential to success: the first is to understand how a client lives and uses a space so you can deliver what’s right for them. The second is that it’s all about the proportions. With my architectural background I think this is hugely important both in terms of the size and scale of something and in terms of its shape.”

Career highs: “Turning a ski chalet in Val d’Isère from a white new-build box into a classic but contemporary chalet was a brilliant project,” says Susanne. “The clients wanted to be able to walk straight into a timber-clad alpine world and that’s exactly what they got.”

What to expect in 2012: Susanne hopes to put the finishing touches to a house in Perthshire – as well as managing the development of ten luxury holiday houses in the Philippines for a private developer. “I’d also love to design a bar and restaurant in Scotland so I have my eyes open for opportunities,” she says.

Joelle Reid, Interior Designer

Joelle Reid Interior Design (www.joelleinteriors.co.uk)

As the 28-year-old who’s already put her stamp on Edinburgh hotspots Tigerlily and Hamilton’s, Joelle’s work is widely on display. In her quest to make sure spaces are “aspirational but not predictable”, she has used her talent for combining the old, the new and the sentimental on a Quartermile project and a host of private homes. A trained textile designer who cut her teeth working for luxury cloth merchants Holland & Sherry, she will soon be one of the most talked-about talents in the industry.

Lynsey Jean Henderson, Textile Designer

Lynsey Jean Henderson (www.lynseyjeanhenderson.com)

Insects, birds and wild plants coexist in multi-coloured harmony in the world the 28-year-old designer creates in her hand-printed wallpapers and fabrics. After graduating from Edinburgh College of Art, Lynsey set up her Edinburgh screen-printing studio in 2010, and has gone from strength to strength. Inspired by Scotland, she can create any scene, whether whimsical or following a client’s brief. She has a solo print exhibition in London’s Basement Gallery next year.

Namon Gaston, Furniture Maker

Namon Gaston Furniture Design (www.namongaston.com)

A talent for combining traditional craftsmanship with elegant design means Namon’s name is becoming known in the industry. Graduating from Edinburgh’s College of Art in 2001, he did a stint as a designer for Habitat before setting up shop in East Lothian. With seating as his primary passion, Namon works in a number of mediums including steel, leather and hemp matting. He’s already had a range of furniture stocked in Morningside’s Studio One Furniture, but thanks to a large commission from an international seating company, his work will be shown throughout Europe this year.

Liam Madden, Architectural Assistant

NORD (www.nordarchitecture.com)

Liam joined the award-winning Glasgow-based architect firm in 2004, and is now one of their rising stars. Cutting-edge and conceptual, the company (which does everything from product design to large-scale developments) has exposed him to a huge variety of work. During his time studying architecture at Strathclyde University, he was awarded the RIAS (Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland) Silver Medal for Architecture. Now 29, the architectural assistant has been part of a number of stellar projects including the Stone House – a contemporary interpretation of a traditional Scottish abode – which was on view during last August’s Highland Housing Fair.

Nick Robertson, Furniture Maker

Nick Robertson Furniture (07870 160391)

This 32-year-old Edinburgh furniture maker eschews the responsibilities of a website for word-of-mouth to grow his business. The man behind much of the woodwork in The Apartment bistro and The Outsider restaurant, he’s been slowly making a name for himself since graduating from Edinburgh College of Art ten years ago. This year, however, he’s focused on designing his own furniture range that’s set to filter into local homes and public spaces. Expect no-fuss functionality, beautiful clean lines and a contemporary finish, as seen in his table design, below.

CLARE DOUGLAS, TEXTILE DESIGNER

Roddie & Louie (www.roddieandlouie.com)

With her “naive” representations of fields, trees, boats and houses, Clare Douglas is the go-to girl when it comes to injecting your home with a bit of personality – be it via one of her blankets, right, or a piece of wall art. With a background in commercial textile design (she used to work for Paul Hargittai Studio in Paris), she decided to go it alone on her return to Scotland last summer. Working closely with a Borders woollen mill, her range is now stocked in boutiques here and abroad. New creations in cashmere are also on the way.

For more information on home-grown interiors talent as well as news of décor finds from around the country, visit Jessica Kiddle’s new blog www.scoutingforchic.blogspot.com