Kane Roscoe BA (Hons) Three Dimensional Design

Kane Roscoe

As a material led maker, who focuses on the handcrafts of leather, glass, metal, and wood; I feel a necessity for the haptic sensation that comes whilst creating. I am captivated by both historical design and floral based pattern work, both of which I use across all my designs. By focusing my designs around circular pathways, I create both naturally flowing and harsh curves within my tooling, drawing inspiration from previous periods of vine work and natural mathematics.

Within my practice I create a variety of objects; some purely functional, whilst others act as decoration with context and purpose, for specific or everyday use. Tending to blend these two often within my making, designing the functionality, and tooling the aesthetics. In my degree show project, I experimented with creating a modular design of a hybrid satchel/backpack; crafted entirely from vegetable-tanned leather and brass. Featuring a detachable front pouch that can be replaced in various sizes or omitted completely; leaving the straps free to carry other equipment, without requiring an entirely new item for different purposes. Essentially, to do more, with less.

Due to the toxicity of chrome-tanned leather, I am determined to only work with vegetable-tanned and natural-tanned leathers. (Including both Pyrogallol and Catechol tanned). However, as only <10% of leather is being vegetable-tanned (Rolence China, C et al, 2020)1, I hope to champion the use of this material and encourage other makers to use it by providing detailed research on my website to enable others to make informed decisions about the type of leather they choose to work with.