High on Color with Bethan Laura Wood

Bethan says:

“I have a higher tolerance for color and patterns, I learned to be comfortable with that and put it in my work”

Bethan talks about her many inspirations deriving from spending time in different countries while travelling. She explains how she lets color speak to her designs and patterns while explaining the design processes of her latest creations. Her love for Mexico strongly comes forward in the conversation and how the Mexican color palette has influenced her work. Bethan has always had an interest in the relation between people and the object and how she can reinforce that relation through time, and of course, color.

Bethan Laura Wood has run a multidisciplinary studio since 2009 characterised by materials investigation, artisan collaboration and a passion for colour and detail. Residencies and location-based projects have become an important factor in her design process, often working in response to her location, in collaboration with local manufacturers, or reflecting back into her work the visual and material culture particular to that area. Bethan is fascinated by the connections we make with the everyday objects that surround us and, as a collector herself, likes to explore what drives people to hold onto one particular object while discarding another. Bethan explores these relationships and questions how they might become cultural conduits. She is interested in critical approaches to achieving sustainability within mass consumption and the production-driven context of the design industry.