First steps into the design world for South Africa-born, London-based designer Cameron Rowley already include being awarded the 2021 edition of The Conran Shop and Marandi Foundation Designer of the Future Award for his ‘One Step Ladder’, which he created as part of his Product and Furniture Design degree at Kingston School of Art.
‘While my African heritage impacts some of my thinking, I am heavily influenced by traditional English furniture construction, as well as objects of use such as tools and implements,’ says Rowley, who cites designers Max Lamb, Sebastian Cox and Jasper Morrison as influences on his attitude and philosophy towards design.
Drawing inspiration from everyday items and processes that don’t necessarily relate to domestic objects, Rowley’s design approach focuses on functionality and making. ‘I believe that making is an essential part of the design process. I am always making, from start to finish, and it always improves and informs my process and end product,’ he says.
‘One Step Ladder’ by Cameron Rowley
His ‘One Step Ladder’ is the result of both his extra-domestic inspirations and his passion for making. The idea, he explains, was born out of an observation that step ladders are generally employed only for a moment, and people often make use of just one step. From here, his design developed to create a compact object that responds to this behaviour.
The visual inspiration came from the wooden handle of a shovel, which Rowley turned upside down to create the step. The extended handle, he explains, ‘provides confidence while the user is up on the step, [and] it also means they do not have to stoop down to move it around, like a traditional step stool’.
For his future in design, Rowley plans to connect with Kingston classmates, whose views and approaches to making, he notes, are very similar to his own. ‘I hope to gain some valuable experience in the next few years and apply that experience in the form of a studio,’ he says. ‘It is my ambition to start a collective focused on sustainability and function.’
Dream collaborators: Sebastian Cox, Vaarni.
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