Gavin Keightley

Gavin Keightley is a designer-maker with a passion for process, he focuses on imagining and creating new ways to make objects. The initial seed for a project of his tends to sprout from a moment of reflection – often being surrounded by nature provides him with an abundance of these moments. Over the past few years he has been inspired by weathering and erosion and in each object he makes, he tells a little bit of the story behind its creation. 

Gavin Keightley, Future Heritage 2019 Alumni

Research and experimentation are key elements within Keightley’s practice; every material and process have a library of historical, cultural and scientific knowledge that will guide the development of each project. From this research he designs a framework for each process that will allow him to create and re-create an experiment until an idea becomes reality. Keightley feels his role as a designer is to highlight and share how these alternative methods of production may offer viable solutions to the challenges that makers face as the world continues to change.  

'Couscous Cabinet' by Gavin Keightley

At Future Heritage

Gavin Keightley made a collection of furniture cast from Jesmonite, including two substantial cabinets and a series of stools. Each piece was made with components formed using moulds fabricated from food: a cabinet and stools constructed with moulds made of couscous, leg moulds from layers of sliced bread and seat moulds fashioned with mashed potato and agar jelly. Alongside the furniture was a range of pewter cast drawer pulls and handles. Some adorned the cabinets; others were exhibited on a textured panel. All of which had been hand-crafted and manipulated to produce bespoke and inimitable objects. The objects Keightley displayed at Decorex became the springboard for his career, and he relished the time spent on the stand at Future Heritage conversing face-to-face with an audience that was truly interested in the finer details of design.

“Showcasing my work for the first time at Future Heritage was enormously beneficial and great exposure for both me and the sponsors. It is one of the noteworthy highlights of my career to date, and I look forward to seeing who will be on the stand in the coming years.” - Gavin Keightley

Current work

Keighley is currently working on ‘a strange little display cabinet;’ which is a bespoke series of stools in a new colourway. He is also creating some large ceramic pieces that are a continuation of another project. Future Heritage gave Keightley the confidence to propose and platform a few of his more unusual concepts.

'Breadcast' by Gavin Keightley

To find out more about Gavin Keightley follow him on social.

If you would like to make an enquiry about commissions, get in touch here.