Discovered by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) and Wallpaper* in partnership with the Design Museum

Touch, reflection and strength. How do our objects help combat isolation in a pandemic world? How can we foster a sense of touch in an increasingly virtual world? Selected from Wallpaper’s annual Graduate Directories, 20 designers have been invited to think freely about their experiences of a pandemic world. Their projects explore their own personal and cultural backgrounds with inspiration coming from mundane experiences to everyday life and the desire to connect with nature and the outdoors. The result is an extraordinarily unique collection of fresh ideas. The designers had a choice of four timbers; red oak, soft and hard maple and cherry, which collectively make up 40% of the American hardwood forest, a vast, expanding and naturally regenerating resource. Responding to the global nature of the project, making was spread across four specialist fabricators in Malaysia, Australia, Portugal and the UK and the designers were guided by an international panel of mentors. The resulting pieces are one-off objects and furniture of varying scale, imagined for a wide variety of settings and executed to the very highest standard. All 20 designs will be on display in the Design Museum from the 13 September – 10 October.