Inspirer Talks // Liam Hopkins

Flow Desk

Liam Hopkins is the owner and creator of the product design company, Lazerian. His clients have included Habitat, Heals’s, John Lewis and the Craft’s Council. Hopkins did a Three-Dimensional degree at Manchester School of Art (Where I'm currently attending) This is inspiring and shows that there is hope to become just as successful as Hopkins. Hopkins initial interests stemmed from the simple processes of taking apart found objects and exploring the components. Giving him an insight of how and what they were. He enjoyed the transformation of 2D to 3D, with one of his early projects consisting of a 3D dinosaur created from cardboard. Immediately after graduating from university, Hopkins set up his own studio space to work from, as at that time he only felt the need to work independently. In the talk, he said to really connect with those around you so that you can take advantage of collaboration. 

Mensa Table

An early piece that he designed and created was a table based on bone structures. The legs/stability are an intricate design made using a combination of digital cutting and hand craft. It combines both form and function, with the contrast of a sleek glass top against the webbed wooden structure. He entered it into the NEC Design Competition in 2010 and won, even though there were problems with the stability of the table. He has now refined and perfected the problems, and selling them for a heavy price on his website shop.

Gerald

One of Hopkins most renowned project’s is ‘GERALD’, a collaboration between Lazier and Richard Sweeney. Gerald was a ‘make your own’ dog, constructed from a flat packed pattern. It pushed the simple boundaries of paper, allowing the dog to freely stand on it’s legs. It is made from 88 individual components, each cut and glued by hand. This shows the great skill of the design and development to create it. It can take time and practice to perfect pieces, and so I should consider this in my practical work. Lazerian gave the opportunity to 105 image-makers to customize the dog. They were then produced full-scale and presented in a private view. The success of Gerald was celebrated with a limited edition book, displaying each dog.