People / Guto Davies
Guto Davies is a designer working across furniture, lighting and objects. Through drawing, prototyping and making, he develops pieces guided by materials and manufacturing, informed by close observation of how everyday built elements are joined, supported and assembled. Precise, engineered components are often paired with materials that carry their own character, creating work that feels simple, direct and quietly considered.
Spira
I initially planned to have a machined metal pattern produced for repeated sand casting. However, the cost was beyond my means, so every stage of the project had to be achievable using equipment and manufacturing processes I could realistically access myself. This led me to develop an alternative workflow combining 3D printing with sand casting.
The overall dimensions of the trivet were determined by the maximum printable area of the 3D printer available to me, while individual sections of the pattern were printed during development to test draft angles, wall thicknesses and proportions, reducing material use, cost and print time.
Once resolved, the full pattern was printed, sanded and used directly to produce the sand mould. Rather than hiding these constraints, they became embedded in the final object, with the cast texture, subtle burrs and evidence of the mould intentionally retained.