Charlie Firth imbues movement and flexibility in his transformative ‘Furl’ table

The tenet of functionality resides at the heart of furniture design, an aspect met with ergonomic accessibility and comfort. Despite an unaltered set of fundamentals to effectuate, an unvarying desire for novelty inspires new silhouettes, materials, and structural syntax. This pursuit of the new not only influences the decisions of the makers but also the unanimous reception of a design among its consumers. With this added onus of not falling prey to obsoletism and monotony, what emanated as a design solution was modularity, flexibility, and a coveted ability to shapeshift, assuming different forms and functions. Instead of seeking new furniture with every passing season, why not have one that epitomises change with a new avatar each day?

Furniture designer, product designer and the founder of the design studio FirthByDesign, Charlie Firth introduces a piece of uniquely flexible and playful furniture that invites user interaction. Expanding his captivating concept called ‘Umbra Lux,’ the designer based in Wales in the UK devises an innovative design, the ‘Furl’ table. The table design, delivered initially in a compact cylindrical drum, unfurls as the user arranges, and rearranges it, in different meandering forms, before crowning it with the glass top. As the table morphs with the users’ whims, the perception and experience of the piece alter in conjunction with the play of light (and shadows) and the hide-and-seek of hues. "When I design, I like to make people feel good. Clearly, a design has to function, but equally good design can offer so much more. I would like to think that my designs go past the functionality of a table, they are playful, interactive installations,” says Firth.

Firth grew up in a creative family of people who love design, and spent most of his childhood simply making something. Exposed to a spectrum of ideas through travelling, he developed a knack for exploring beyond social norms. As his appreciation for design grew, he delved into the process of learning what underpins a design, both practically and emotionally. Through his education, he honed his hands-on designing skills while dabbling with the limitless and exciting possibilities of the design industry. During the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic, while Firth was still in university, he observed the emotional and physical concussions that the people around him suffered. “This unprecedented pandemic forced me to re-evaluate my perspective on contentment, happiness, and overall well-being. I observed how colour had the inherent power to influence emotions,” the British designer recalls. With this, ‘Umbra Lux’ was born.

Firth embarked on a transformative journey with his ‘Umbra Lux Aurora’ and ‘Solis’ tables—“My graduation pieces consisted of a fixed waved form with transitional coloured fins,” he explains. 'Umbra Lux' evolved as an expressive aesthetic, where colours respond to form as they are activated by human perception. The name is derived from the word ‘Umbra’ which means, the innermost and darkest parts of a shadow—representing the ability of the form to completely impede the light source. Through its vibrant colours and sinuous form, the design emanates an inner luminosity, aiming to foster well-being and positive productivity. Injecting positivity into spaces through colour, the form reveals different colours to viewers from various angles.

The 'Umbra Lux Furl’ table steps further, in comparison to its older counterpart. It transcends the previously fixed waveform with dynamism and flexibility. “I experimented with paper and foam structures that possessed the ability to flex and manipulate surface textures. The concept fascinated me—by manipulating the form, the surface, and texture, which in turn, reacted in response by creating shadows,” Firth shares. His investigation of material and tactility culminated in a visually captivating and active framework that is enhanced further with the introduction of colours. This structure, which can even double up as a stool design or a side table, piques the interest of users, both physically and visually. The 'Furl' table is crafted in a small workshop in South West Wales, its distinctive form achieved through a combination of CAD (Computer Aided Design) and precision machining. Each fin is prepared, painted and finished by hand. “The assembly of its four components in a sequential manner brings the captivating 'Furl' structure to life. The absence of adhesives ensures that the structure can be fully dismantled and the individual materials separated,” notes the designer.

Furniture is just the beginning of this concept, and the designer continues to experiment with it, to develop a variety of product variations. With his interventions, Firth challenges the constraints of product design, questioning what they should, and can deliver. Its innovative design prioritises interaction with its form, through moulding and manipulating it as one desires. The impacts of movement and light on its appearance from different perspectives complement each other—staging an animated dance of colour and surface texture. The table, although unique, showcases the concept in its most essential form, giving users the freedom to configure surface profiles and colours, to create a new furniture piece for themselves, its flexible properties limited only by their imagination.