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• sixixis

REPORTS

ICT and Media

Three design graduates are showing just how much it's possible to achieve with innovative ideas, limitless enthusiasm and the kind of hands-on support that's available to new businesses in Cornwall.

The young designers behind Sixixis are using wood in ways that you might not have thought possible. Imagine, for example, a spherical summerhouse that you could literally roll between different positions in your garden. Or a chaise longue constructed from thin strips of ash curved in ways that bring to mind the impossible objects of Max Escher.

The process that allows these strangely beautiful yet highly functional objects to take shape was initially developed by Tom Raffield while studying for a degree in 3D Design for Sustainability at University College Falmouth in Cornwall. "I was interested in the possibilities of bending wood," Tom explains, "but frustrated by the restrictions on what you can achieve using conventional techniques. So I started trying out new methods of steam-bending. What I came up with is a 'steam-bag' concept, where you focus on one section of wood at a time. This allows you to do each bend independently at different times and gives much more flexibility in design terms. "

Together with fellow design students Charlie Whinney and Chris Jarratt, Tom decided to take the idea forward after leaving college. The team landed commissions to create first a tree house in Cornwall and then a "rolling summerhouse" for a client in Dorset, based on a highly original design by Charlie. "It's basically a four-metre sphere made out of green ash and oak, constructed on a grid-shell system using thin sections of wood. By building double or triple layers with struts in between, you can create incredibly light but strong structures."

While working on the summerhouse the team moved to Dorset, but they were keen to get back to Cornwall to build the business. "It's not just the lifestyle, though that's obviously a great bonus," Tom says. "The overheads are much lower than we'd be able to find elsewhere, and I don't think there's anywhere else we could have got quite such a high level of business support." Cornwall also offers supplies of the wood used in the company's designs, which is all sourced from local foresters.

In 2005, Sixixis were offered business incubation facilities at the Combined Universities in Cornwall (CUC) campus at Tremough, and with the help of Cornwall Pure Business they also managed to obtain workshop space in Redruth. "It's perfect for us," Tom says, "especially as we've been able to customise the space to our needs. The building is run by the Cornwall Arts Centre Trust, and is full of other people working in different creative fields - which makes for a really buzzy atmosphere."

Getting the company off the ground has been a challenging but exhilarating process for Tom and his colleagues: "It's all new to us, and we're still learning so much every day - not least from our mistakes!"