Ernest Race

Race began his career as a furniture designer by working for engineer J.W. Noel Jordan. Post war rationing meant that wood was hard to come by. Race and Jordan were forced to consider materials which were more readily available, namely: aluminium and steel rods. Race fell in love with these modern alternatives to wood and thus his career as a furniture designer and maker began.

Instead of being overwhelmed by the desperate lack of common materials, Race found that he created some of his best work whilst dealing with the challenges of material scarcity. He embraced  metal, eking out the potential of its material properties, to create furniture which could not be replicated in wood, plastic or fabric.

The results are furniture of light and airy quality, which sit in direct contrast to their heavy pre-war equivalents. His designs are brimming with optimism. They are physical examples of the synthesis of pre-war modern thought and post-war contemporary design.