Paul Firbank is a modern craftsman. Based in the East End he sorts and sifts through London’s scrap yards, railway arch grease shops and thrift markets looking for the remains of outmoded modern metal parts and vintage engineered machinery that represent fragments of British industrial history…
Building upon the past Paul creates something unmistakeably contemporary. Using traditional metalwork techniques and his time-honoured machinery, he restores, welds, turns, strips, brushes, polishes and varnishes, transforming these discarded scraps into bespoke pieces of contemporary lighting and furniture.
Paul develops each piece meticulously, subtly responding to the materials he has found to create something familiar yet modern and unique. Inspired by things that last Paul’s work have been described as future heirlooms and have begun to create a legacy of it’s own.
The launch of The Rag and Bone Man at Tent London 2011 as part of London Design Festival has led Paul to work with private individuals, interior designers, artists, architects, collectors and on international commissions. His works have also been featured in The Times, The Telegraph, Living Etc, and Elle Decoration