1 June 2026
Artist Highlight - THIS IS OINK
Interview and Review
Founded in 2025, by designers Dan Jackson and Lulu Davey, THIS IS OINK make home & bespoke goods from their workshop on a Dorset farm. Dan is a product designer and skilled maker, while Lulu is a graphic designer; together they have developed their craft at notable studios and major institutions across London and Melbourne over the past decade. Their creative practice and refined yet playful style grows through a process of experimentation, combining traditional craft values with the possibilities of modern machinery. The studio’s Kruller Extra Mirrors were recently named Best New Product in Launchpad at Top Drawer S/S26.
ARTIST INTERVIEW
1. The Timbre collection began with a technical challenge of creating a continuous 360° wavy joint. How did this structural problem evolve into the central visual language of the work?
Our initial experimentation centred on the joints external wiggle. We first imagined it as maybe a playful detail for the foot of a table leg. It wasn’t until we made the first prototype of the joint that the idea of carving into it and revealing that inner beauty arrived. Once we turned the first pot and watched the pattern emerge within, we knew we needed to celebrate that. Suddenly there were infinite possibilities shaped by the wiggle joint, material choice, and the design of the final product.
2. The joinery is normally concealed within wooden objects, yet here it becomes the primary surface pattern. What interests you about revealing this hidden structure?
We love the intrigue these objects create for viewers. You need a moment to figure out what you’re looking at. They’re often mistaken for inlays, but in reality they’re almost the inverse of that process. The central pattern is the bottom material emerging through, revealing the hidden beauty within.
3. Your process combines CNC machining with traditional woodturning. How do these two methods interact during the making of each piece?
It’s a hybrid approach, so both methods are fundamental to the making process. CNC machining brings precision, repeatability, and the technology to create a joint that would be almost impossible to make by hand. Two machined wiggle halves are glued together to create a ‘blank’, which is then turned on the lathe. We love the warmth and character that the human process of woodturning brings to an object. That subtle human imperfectness is what makes each piece truly individual, even when they all begin from the same starting point.
4. The flowing patterns only appear once the joined blank is turned on the lathe. How does this gradual revealing influence your relationship with the object during making?
The turning is the more emotional part of the process, every cut is mindful and once material is removed it's gone so you have to gradually sneak up on the end pattern without taking away too much. There are lots of variables; joint design, material choice, shape and only through experimenting can you start to steer the process of where you want it to go and how the finished piece will look.
5. Subtle irregularities emerge through hand-turning. How important are these variations in distinguishing each piece from a purely machine-made object?
Very important! Turning on a lathe allows for natural rhythm to come into play and the ability to respond to variation in the timber. We work to approximate dimensions allowing for the irregularities that create the character and difference in each piece. Unlike purely machine-made objects they are truly one of a kind, that's the beauty of the Timbre collection.
6. The pieces function as both utilitarian vessels and sculptural objects. How do you approach this balance between function and visual expression?
We are a design practice first and foremost, so everything we offer needs to have utility of a kind. We often find that the techniques themselves lead us toward what an object wants to be. With the Timbre collection, for example, turning into the form reveals the patterns, so it becomes quite natural that these pieces want to be bowls. For us, the balance comes from not forcing a function, but letting it emerge organically from the making process.
7. Within The Invisible Made Visible, the work foregrounds the hidden expertise of joinery. What aspects of craft knowledge do you hope viewers become more aware of when encountering these objects?
We hope viewers can learn more about the processes and time behind CNC joinery as a craft in its own right. As CNC machines become more accessible to individual makers and move beyond solely industrial or mass-production contexts, we hope to see more people pushing the boundaries with this technology. For us, it’s about fully embracing its capabilities and designing objects where its use is integral, the Timbre collection couldn’t exist without it.
JOINT, PATTERN, AND THE REVEALING OF STRUCTURE
Review by Chih-Yang Chen, Art Director
THIS IS OINK’s Timbre collection begins with something usually hidden. Joinery, typically concealed inside an object, is brought to the surface and made central. What would normally sit quietly within the structure becomes the defining visual element.
At first glance, the pattern can be misleading. It looks like an inlay, something added onto the surface. But the closer you look, the more that assumption shifts. The pattern is not applied, it is exposed. It comes from within the object itself, revealed through the process of turning. That reversal changes how the work is understood.
The process plays a significant role in shaping the outcome. CNC machining allows for a level of precision that would be difficult to achieve by hand, creating the initial joint that holds the structure together. But the work doesn’t stop there. Once the blank is formed, the lathe introduces a different kind of control. The surface is shaped gradually, each cut affecting what becomes visible. There’s a sense of anticipation in that stage, not knowing exactly how the pattern will emerge until it does.
This combination of methods creates a tension between repeatability and variation. The initial structure is consistent, but the final form is not. Small differences appear through the turning process, shifts in proportion, slight irregularities in the surface. These details prevent the objects from feeling uniform. Each piece carries its own variation, even when they share the same starting point.
Function remains present, but it doesn’t dominate. The forms often settle into bowls or vessels, not through imposition, but because the process leads them there. The objects feel resolved, but not forced. Their use is clear, yet secondary to how they are made.
What stands out is how the work slows down the act of looking. It takes a moment to understand what you are seeing. The surface invites closer inspection, asking you to trace how the pattern is formed, how the materials meet. In doing so, it shifts attention toward the craft itself.
The collection doesn’t try to separate technology and handwork. It allows them to coexist, each contributing something necessary. The result is not a contrast, but a continuous process where structure, material, and making remain visible.