About Rekha Maker

 

Rekha is a designer and architect who works predominantly with casting and mouldmaking. I use a liquid ‘eco-concrete’ called Jesmonite and pour these into my handmade moulds to create striking architectural homewares. I am a full-time Architect, and I started the Rekha Maker in 2020. Many of the designs were already in my head, I just hadn’t devoted the time yet to test them.

 

Making everything myself, I fall between the categories of both craftsperson and designer. Through the casting process, I want to create high quality, unique pieces which can stand on their own as objects, even when they are not fulfilling their function. I like to focus on proportions and clean lines. If I could sum up the over-arching theme of my work it would be ‘sculptural architecture for the home’.

 

I am originally from Liverpool, but until recently, lived in Glasgow for 16 years. I have a small studio on the Southside of Glasgow where I make a big mess.

 

When I’m feeling most inspired, it’s likely I’ll be looking to buildings and their motifs for inspiration. It is so fun to be able to translate and experiment with architectural principles on a small scale. I enjoy making references to many different architectural styles, but at the end of the day, it is about creating a functional object with great proportions rather than referencing a particular style. I hope you can see this architectural influence in the shapes of my objects.

 

I have been dabbling in casting through model making in Architecture school, but it is only since early 2020 where I started to properly experiment. I am by no means an expert and all my work has involved trial and error, with a lot of finessing along the way. There is no such thing as perfection and in fact, I would argue that a lot of the character of handmade pieces comes from the tiny little flaws and idiosyncrasies in the process.

In a world where mass-produced homeware is ubiquitous and we are trying to mitigate throwaway culture, I think it is important to put a human spin on design. I hope that customers can feel the love and care that has been put into making the pieces and therefore is something that would sit as a timeless object in the home, rather than just a trend.

Sustainability is something which I’m very mindful of so I have been developing a cyclical process to ensure that any leftover Jesmonite or pieces that didn’t turn out quite right, get to go back in the casting process so there is no wastage.

In 2020, I was fortunate enough to design and make the Scottish Album of the Year awards, which was curated by Local Heroes. It was such an honour to make something with a dual purpose (both candle holder and award) for all the talented artists that made it to the shortlist. The experience of collaboration with Stacey from Local Heroes was such a highlight for me and collaboration is something I want to make a focus on doing as I develop. I made connections with some wonderful people, and I was interviewed for the SAY awards 2020 show on the BBC.

I am currently developing some larger designs such as lighting, mirrors and other furniture. I am really looking forward to developing my skills to allow me to refine the casting process for larger pieces and I’m sure there will be a steep learning curve along the way. It would be fantastic if I could combine this craft with bespoke joinery or stonemasonry. I get a lot of enjoyment of creating with my hands and I think I would enjoy the slow process of sculpting natural materials.