Max LambSpecial Delivery

Max Lamb’s ongoing Scrap Poly Furniture project continues with a new series of 23 pieces in high-gloss lapis blue.

A form of decluttering and cleansing, Lamb adds to his Scrap Poly series only as his studio fills up with polystyrene scraps. In this case, he is readying to move his London workshop. A meticulous hoarder, Lamb utilizes all his residue, as “every little bit of material is precious and has potential.” As assemblage of random offcuts, the nature of the scraps dictate each form. The 23 lightweight works—chairs, benches and planters, are a result of this exercise.

Once constructed, the works are sprayed in a high-density polyurethane rubber coating to form a permanent, waterproof exoskeleton over the fragile polystyrene, making these works functional both indoors and outdoors.Today he has chosen a primary mineral color—lapis lazuli.The blue is a standard “off the shelf” unadulterated colour—“straight out of the tin.” Lamb enjoys the duality of a practice that combines the fundamentals of nature with the synthetic.

This practice is also one of economy, speed and performance. Engineering and making furniture often relies on long lead times and research. The Scrap Poly project offers a satisfying and efficient way to circumvent time.

Born in 1980, Max Lamb is a native of Cornwall, England. Lamb cites his upbringing in this bucolic landscape as the source for his creative spirit and his deep appreciation for natural materials. He earned a degree in Three Dimensional Design from Northumbria University in 2003, and, in the same year, he was awarded both the Hettich International Design Award and the Peter Walker Award for Innovation in Furniture Design. In 2006, he completed his Masters Degree in Design Products at the Royal College of Art.

In 2016, Max’s work was included in the design triennial beauty at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York. In 2018 the Art Institute of Chicago selected Max Lamb as their designer for the inaugural exhibition of the Franke/Herro design series, where curator Zoe Ryan highlights the work of important emerging talent.