tandem:blog

follow us now on your favorite social network

2011-09-16T21:37:00.006+01:00

There are now plenty of new ways to keep up to date with Tandem. Whatever your choice of social media network, we should have you covered.

You can now follow us on twitter, facebook and tumblr, for all the latest Tandem news and musings.

Click the links to go directly to our pages and be sure to click ‘follow’.

prize draw, self build & design show

2011-09-12T21:00:00.004+01:00

The winner of the Tandem Sprung Ply Stool is Ceri Baker! Congratulations, and thank you to everybody who participated.

We used www.random.org for the prize draw, a third-party random draw service.

last chance to win a sprung ply stool at the show

2011-09-11T09:55:00.005+01:00

So far we had a good number of visitors at the Self Build & Design Show in Exeter, and a lot of interest in Tandem at stand A117.

Today is already the last day - and also the last chance to put your name down to win one of our popular Sprung Ply Stools!

The show is open today from 10 am until 4 pm.

self build & design show, 9-10 sept in exeter

2011-09-06T11:05:00.005+01:00

This month we will be exhibiting at a regional show in the South-West - at the Self Build & Design Show 2011 in Exeter, 9-10 September, at the Westpoint Exhibition Centre. Opening times are 10am - 5pm on Saturday and 10am - 4pm on Sunday.

'The SelfBuild & Design Show is the South West's most informative and hands-on show for anyone interested in converting, extending, renovating or selfbuilding.' ... - have a look at the exhibition website for more information and to see who else will be exhibiting this year.

If you are thinking of visiting the show please get in contact: we have some free admission tickets, which we can send out or reserve for you. Just contact us via email, phone or contact form on our website.

For a description on how to get to the venue please follow this link.

mews conversion featured in the independent

2011-09-05T09:39:00.007+01:00

One of our most recently completed projects has been featured in a double page spread in The Independent newspaper in August. For the conversion of a Totnes mews house Tandem designed and made most of the interior and built-in furniture - a challenge due to the small floor area of this one bedroom apartment.

Read all about it in the online article: 'We built our dream holiday cottage for less than £100,000'.

And to take a closer look at the project on our website, click here.

back from london

2011-05-10T16:30:00.026+01:00

Grand Designs Live 2011 closed on Sunday - yes, it was a bit of a slog taking down the stand and driving back to Devon on Sunday night - but still worth it: we had a great exhibition with loads of interest, including the big Kevin asking for our brochures and enquiring after our services for his house in Somerset. Fingers crossed !

The organisers liked our stand and our products, too, we even got two of the coveted 'GRAND DESIGN loves' product badges: one for the Proppy folding chair, the other for the screen shelving system. - And they almost gave us a third one, they liked the low sideboard just as much.

The first orders have already come in as well as some commissions and requests for quotations, so we will be busy busy busy - just as anticipated. A great start for the summer.

grand designs live in london's ExCeL - now on

2011-05-03T10:23:00.013+01:00

The show opened on Saturday and is still on until Sunday 8th May. It's been great so far for Tandem with lots of visitors, interest, enquiries and sales - don't miss the opportunity if you're in London during the next few days: we are offering a show price on all product orders and sales made at the show - 10% off our list prices!

See us at stand E85 at the Design Arcade.

new website online now

2011-04-21T15:43:00.008+01:00

Our new website is now online, just in time for the big Grand Designs Live exhibition from 30 April until 8 May in London. It includes many new furniture products and commissions, and some more recent interior projects. We have also included testimonials of our clients, definitely worth having a read through!

The Tandem website is now a bit more flexible, and again fresh, simple and easy to use - we hope you like it and find it enjoyable to browse and look and read ...

The website is the final bit of our new company look, to go with the new brochures and of course all other bits and pieces such as furniture tags, business cards etc. The graphic design is by Matthew Durston of SKDA - we hope you will like it as much as we do!

tandem at Grand Designs Live 2011

2011-03-16T20:46:00.015Z

Very exciting news - we will be exhibiting at this year's Grand Designs Live at the Excel in London! The show is on from 30 April until 8 May, it is the UK's no.1 show for design, innovation and anything to do with building and home: self-building, interiors, furniture, renovation, technologies - a great day out to get inspired and shop around.

We will have a stand in the popular Design Arcade, come and see us - we are stand E85.

And have a look on the Grand Designs Live website to see who else will be there: granddesignslive.com.

If you are thinking of visiting the show why not get in contact to get your tickets through us?

And to find out how to get there just follow this link.

See you there !

tandem marketing campaign

2010-11-17T13:07:00.006Z

We have been very fortunate to secure a grant for investment into our business. The grant was given by DRC Partnership and supports new machinery for our Devonport workshop, and new IT and marketing material.

So presently we're in the process of taking lots of photographs of new and already tried and tested furniture designs, and we're also developing a new website with a completely new look, new projects, new images - and a new logo!

This is all very exciting and we're looking forward to December where we hope to go online with the new site.

tandem at the house of fraser window gallery

2010-06-10T12:04:00.007+01:00

Tandem is exhibiting work at the House of Fraser Window Gallery in the centre of Plymouth. From 8 June to 22 June we are exhibiting the popular Sprung Ply Floor Chair together with the Tripod Light.

The House of Fraser Window Gallery is a contemporary gallery space in a prime city centre location. Exciting artwork across a range of mediums and styles has been selected in collaboration with The Arts Unit of Plymouth City Council, it includes fine art, painting, graphics and furniture design.

space for dining

2010-03-10T08:35:00.015Z

Food, or rather eating and meal times do not seem to play such an important role anymore in our busy lives between work, other duties, hobbies and social commitments. Studies about our eating habits suggest as much, for example that forks outsell matching knives by almost double in the UK nowadays. What lifestyle do we choose? A large TV with big sofas and a small table and chairs in a corner, or a proper dining table that can be much more than just an adequate space to eat.

Food and eating is something to be celebrated and a great opportunity to socialise and relax. There is always space that can be found, cleared and changed to accommodate a table and some chairs, and which ever functions you want to give this area - it can reflect them.

The traditional layout of many homes has seen the dining room as one of the reception rooms of the house. This has begun to change recently with people appreciating a space with table and chairs as a social centre point of the house. It might be arranged as part of the living room, increasingly it is directly connected with the kitchen now that this important functional space is no longer a small utilitarian room tucked away at the back of the house.

The focal point of any dining space is the table and it is important to choose the right one that accommodates all the functions we want it to perform. If it is not set up as a separate dining room, it might want to be part of a lively space such as kitchen or living room so that it also can be used for a variety of other activities: homework, reading books or newspapers, meeting each other, playing games, having friends round – and having meals. An open plan layout is of course ideally suited for this, connecting spaces and therefore connecting functions and goings on in the house.

The choice of materials and the style of furniture reflect functions as much as location and set up do. For dining tables there is a wide variety of finishes available, ranging from polished materials such as glass or stone through to high pressure laminates, such as Formica, or wooden table tops. Whilst a spotless glass or other polished surface might have a more formal appearance, a wooden top is probably the most adaptable both in style and for different functions. Like the other table finishes it can be combined with fabrics such as table cloths, runners or place mats, but it is also very pleasant to use just with ceramic or glass table ware on its own. It is, with the correct finish, robust and easy to maintain, and ages well.

Chairs will need to suit, but not necessarily to match, the table both in design and materiality. Apart from fact that they need to be comfortable to use both for sitting and handling, it is worth considering how they look from the back, as they will mostly be seen from this angle. Arm rests add comfort allowing for sitting back and relaxing when using the chairs for a longer time.

Other furniture items in a dining area depend on the available space. It’s great to see that sideboards seem to be enjoying a come back, ever practical they provide a lot of storage space for crockery and glasses, and they can be beautifully used for the display of flowers or cherished objects. Sideboards are available in a many designs, styles and materials, the Cornish designer Lucy Turner for example re-uses old pieces and gives them an interesting twist applying contemporary patterns.

Two more aspects should be considered in the dining space: floor finish and lighting. For flooring, the choice of material has to suit the type of uses you are invisaging for this area. Practicality, comfort and noise should be thought of as well as the appearance. Stone, tiling and timber flooring are easy to keep clean, whilst a rug has the benefit of dampening noise. A thin, hard woven rug might be an option, for example a natural fibre material, allowing chairs to be moved easily but adding that extra bit of comfort under your feet.

For lighting, a combination of a pendant over the table with additional wall lights works well: the light of the pendant, hung at the correct height to avoid glare from the bulb, reflects off the table surface enhancing its colour and texture, wall lights can provide warm background lighting that combines well with candles for relaxed meal times. Consider re-arranging your layout and move the table into different positions throughout the year – we place ours in a different position during winter to allow for a couple of comfy chairs in front of the woodburner – and include sufficient cable length for the pendant to be moved, too.

(image: open plan kitchen and dining area. Interior design, furniture design and manufacture by Tandem)

The Changing Place of Dining

2010-01-04T18:51:00.009Z

Our first article for Devon Life has been published in the January issue of the magazine. We are writing about Dining Rooms, the role and importance they can have in our homes and private lives and how they can be planned and arranged, including thoughts to consider when choosing furniture and materials.

In case you cannot lay your hands on the current issue of the magazine: we will publish some key elements of the text in our blog later this spring.

We hope to be writing for Devon Life on a 'regular' basis, if there is a topic that interests you or you would welcome some advice on, let us know and maybe we could suggest it as the next feature.

Client Testimonial

2009-10-23T16:55:00.011+01:00

Today we are posting a testimonial from a client who asked Tandem to design and manufacture furniture for their newly refurbished architect's office in Herefordshire. The architect, Architype, is a leading architectural practice in the field of sustainable design, and the fit out had to fulfil high expectations and requirements for quality, manufacture, durability and economical use of sustainable materials.

Tandem were fantastic to work with, designing and making a large quantity of chairs, tables and shelving for our new office to a very high quality and to a demandingly tight deadline. As an architectural practice we have very high standards of design and quality, and found Tandem after an extensive nationwide search. The result has transformed our new office into something very special. It has been much admired by numerous visitors and is much enjoyed by all of us. I cannot recommend Tandem too highly.

(Jonathan Hines, Architype)

Take a look at the project on our website: www.tandemstudio.co.uk/architype in the commercial interior section, and www.tandemstudio.co.uk/office at furniture commissions

Helical Stairs

2009-09-29T16:41:00.009+01:00

Today we are posting a few images of a recently installed staircase for a new eco house in Golant, Cornwall.

The client

commissioned Tandem to design, detail and build the stairs on recommendation of Pioneer Builders, a sustainable eco building company based in Cornwall.

The plinth of the stair is built from a strong softwood structure, covered with flexible plywood and painted white. Treads and risers are solid oak finished with OSMO Hardwax (Polyx) Oil.

The under-stair cupboard is also lined with painted flexible ply, the soffit has been built from strips of the same material using boat building techniques to achieve the three-dimensional curve.

why employ an interior designer ?

2009-09-10T12:11:00.010+01:00

Who employs an interior designer?

Many think that this is something for bigger businesses, for a bank, a solicitor’s office or maybe retail shops, bars and restaurants.

But they might be mistaken: as much as it can help somebody to get financial advice, to ask a decorator to paint their building, it can help them to take advice on how to make the most of the spaces they occupy - whether house or business premises.

Of course you might think – I know myself how to arrange my shop, my office, my house - why pay somebody for advice? For the same reason as you might leave it to a Graphic Designer to design your company logo, or for you to ask a photographer to take photographs on your wedding: for the reason that they do it well. And better then you would do it yourself!

The same applies to an interior designer - It’s a matter of experience and knowledge.

And it doesn’t have to be an added luxury...

Tandem. MAKING SPACES

beech sideboard commission

2009-08-06T15:00:00.021+01:00

Today we are presenting a recently completed contemporary furniture commission for a client in Austria.

Tandem designed and made this bespoke sideboard in two elements for flexible use and assembly.

Solid beech has been used throughout, some of the surfaces have been enhanced with charcoal gray desktop linoleum.

The slim and elegant doors are stabilised by aluminium bars fitted into grooves across their height on the inside, stopping the wood from warping but at the same time allowing for movement that is characteristic for solid wood.

Find out more about this sideboard, or any other furniture commissions on www.tandemstudio.co.uk.

here it is - our new website

2009-07-23T16:55:00.006+01:00

We've just uploaded our new website - minor tweaks are still to be done before it's officially launched, but in the meantime: have a look and browse, and email us with any comments or if you find any odd things that need some more attention ...

We hope you enjoy the new layout and structure, additional projects and bigger images. Happy browsing !

New website - soon !

2009-07-16T15:00:00.006+01:00

BIGGER - BETTER - NICER ...

We are working on the new tandem website, which will go online in a few weeks. It will be structured into the three main categories of the services we offer:

commercial interiors - residential architecture & interiors - furniture

We have added more projects, more products, images will be larger and of higher quality. Thanks to FourDegreesWest in Plymouth, we have rationalised the design and construction, we hope you will enjoy visiting, browsing, reading.

work in progress - fitted sideboard for a client in plymouth

2009-07-15T09:28:00.014+01:00

Today we are posting a few images of work-in-progress: a furniture commission for a sideboard that will be fitted in the client's living room.

The sideboard is made from painted MDF with solid oak drawers and shelf in the centre, and a thick solid oak top. The images show the unit in the Tandem workshop, painted and assembled, with drawers and doors fitted.

furniture commission: study table

2009-07-07T16:48:00.015+01:00

For today's news we are posting a recently completed furniture commission for a small study desk for a client in Germany.

The design is simple and playful and goes well with the proppy chair, which the client bought a few years ago.

The desk has a birch faced plywood top and solid ash legs, the front half of the top is hinged to open and allow access to a small storage area for paper, pens or a laptop beneath.

welcome to tandem:blog

2009-06-10T11:21:00.004+01:00

Tandem - architecture & interior design, furniture design and making

We will post news, developments, progress, our views and visions on this site, and keep you up to date with all that is going on at Tandem.