Playing the Marquetry

Derek Frost bright young interior designer is a name already well known to those who take note of such things. Derek Frost bright young designer of interesting and innovative furniture is not such a well know quantity. But all that is soon to change at an exhibition of furniture designed by Derek Frost at Leighton House, London and made by some of the specialist craftsmen whose talents he has been nurturing and promoting over the past few years. The pieces themselves are simple, almost sturdy in shape, but surprisingly complex in texture and ornament. Finishes like lacquer, inlaid mother of pearl, exotic veneers and even white gold gilding are all used, but because of the simplicity of the shape the final result is remarkably restrained.

To describe his style is difficult. He has moved on from modern abstractions to a contemporary look that appears conversely to appeal as much to traditionalists as to those of more modern outlook. Though firmly rooted in the 1980‘s his pieces echo the traditional standards of detail, quality and line and the reestablishment of modern design firmly within a historical context.