Stuff Bath

The brilliantly-monikered Stuff Bath festival is making its debut this autumn. As the title suggests, its being held in Bath and it’s about, well… stuff.

More precisely it’s about how all the ‘stuff’ around us has been designed and – extrapolating this further – looks at how ‘design is therefore the stuff of life… stuff matters and stuff is designed’.

A series of events will be held around the city looking at this ‘stuff’. So Caffeine, at Colonna & Small’s will examine the context of creativity (and coffee) while The Mantelpiece, at Milsom Place, will see a group of designers recreating the mantelpieces they have at home.

The Reinventing the Wheel show, also at Milson Place, looks at the importance of craft skills – with design students tasked with developing products using old techniques, while David Quay and Jeremy Tankard will hold an event looking at type design and answering the question ‘why does Bath need a special typeface?’.

Stuff Bath is run by Bath’s School of Art and Design, in association with the Design Council.

Pradeep Sharma, head of the School of Art and Design, says, ‘All the stuff that surrounds us has been designed somehow, so much so that we barely even notice it. Yet the questions designers ask are rarely aired in public. Stuff Bath is a chance to explore this in a fun and provocative way.’

Stuff Bath runs from 7-11 November at various venues in Bath. Illustrations pictured are by Charles van der Essen.