Harvest Shelves
Processes of urbanisation and globalisation have contributed to an increasing disconnection from food systems, heritage landscapes, seasonal rhythms, and forms of climate resilience rooted in rural practice. This project investigates how design can reconnect contemporary users with these traditions of harvest, foraging, and land-based knowledge.
The outcome is a compact, modular kitchen shelving unit, primarily constructed from Scots elm, with an integrated removable trug for foraging, made from locally sourced apple wood. The trug draws on traditional West Country basket forms, translating vernacular craft into a contemporary furniture context.
Informed by pagan rituals such as Wassailing and Twelfth Night, the design centres acts of gratitude toward the orchard and acknowledges the cultural significance of fruit-bearing trees.
The fabrication process involved complex compound mitre cuts, precise joinery, and carefully sequenced construction to ensure both structural integrity and functional cohesion.