Karla TE-Portfolio

Karla Tull-Esterbrook

Product Development and materials exploration SHADOW OF INFINITE REGRESS MIRROR

The SHADOW OF INFINITE REGRESS MIRROR creates unexpected 3-dimen-sionality and visual interest through an interplay of transparency, layering and a harnessing of infinite regress. It began simply as a stenciled mirror, was layered to create a more dynamic aesthetic, and then the positioning of the layers was tweaked to push the 3-dimensionality further.

Karla Tull-Esterbrook 2015

Stenciling process

Product Development Lighting

POKE was born out of a desire to create a lamp that would induce uncommon engagement with the user. This spurred the question “If a lamp can’t be turned on through conventional means, what are some unconventional ways to turn it on, and how would the lamp be com-posed in order to facilitate such an interaction?” Combined with the theme of play and material investigations into rubber, this inquiry led to POKE. Having a flexible shade composed of silicone, POKE requires the user to depress this shade in order to turn on the light. The body of the lamp is mostly hollow, which ensures that the interaction remains mys-terious, as the user will feel no buttons or switches when depressing the shade.

Working Prototype:Version 1

Render of Version 2(In development)

Base

Diffuser

Silicone shade

hole for cord

hole for cord

bosses for attachmentof diffuser and PCB

vents in bottom allow for heat and air to escape

large hole in bottom allowsshade to stretch over basefor assembly, and allows airvents in base to be uncovered

feet elevate the lamp slightlyso that air and heat can escapethrough air vents in base, and hide assembly screws

Version 2: Anatomy

Render of Version 2


PokeProcess


Sorrento Hotel Design Commission: Lighting Half-Painted Globes


The Half-Painted Globes were a project presented to the Sorrento Hotel for the hotel’s redesign this year. These globes are the first draft of an approach to updated retro design. Rhino render below, photos of 1st prototypes to the right.

Furniture DesignHand-Cast Concrete

The form for the OUTDOOR LIVING ROOM CHAIR was inspired by classic mid-century easy chairs and the desire to bring this aesthetic outdoors. Both the chair and the material it’s made from are taken out of context to create a living room piece suitable for an outdoor lounging space. Despite the seat being made of concrete, users have found the chair surprisingly comfortable due to the generous waterfall edge and seat angle. I built this chair as an Artist-in-Residence at Solus Decor in Vancou-ver, BC, a company which creates hand-cast concrete architectural elements.


Hand built model of seat for making the mold.Form with internal rubber mold and plug (for a hollow pour)suspended in the mold.


Furniture Design CommissionHand-Cast Concrete

the form

This GARDEN BENCH was my first foray into casting concrete for furniture. As this was a one-off, I built a custom form meant for several concrete pours rather than a longer term mold. Custom metal brackets connect the back and seat. The legs and seat are concrete, the back is white oak with a weather resistant varnish.

Weld seam ground down and polished for a smooth surface

Part in context: Bulbous Side Table fully assembled

spun part

Product DevelopmentManufacturing in Metal

Bulbous Side Table design copyright Codor Design 2015.


The BULBOUS SIDE TABLE was designed by Tamara Codor of Codor Design, who then approached me to develop it further and research how it could be manufactured. I include this project to show my thought process in terms of manufacturing custom parts in metal.To create the domed part of the table, the most straightforward way seemed to be starting with a spun part that could then be quartered and these parts reconfigured intothe desired shape, as shown in the infographic. Spinning the metal rather than pounding itover a form would give us a smoother surface texture. Additionally the initial tooling of the mold for spinning would be cheaper and simpler than to have it stamped or pressed in a 2 part mold. The rest of the table could be made from one piece of sheet metal, with a portion cut outwhere the dome would be assembled, and the table top bent on a break.

Bulbous Side Table rendered, with matte powder coated dark grey.

17”

21”

16”

16”

16”

Codor DesignCrazed Glass Surface Design

The CRAZED GLASS surface finish was a collaboration between myself and Tamara Codor of Codor Design. I presented the concept of stenciling mirrors, and we arrived at this surface design organically through the exploration of desilvering mirrors.

Karla Tull-Esterbrook 2015 Surface design copyright Codor Design 2015.

BONDED PAIRS are functional sculptures made from found chairs. These pieces explore a romantic theme, the idea of two becoming so close they seem to be one. Functionally the chairs retain their structural integrity, often becoming stronger through their union than they were as individual chairs. Meant to seat two at a time, to induce snuggling. Each sculpture is one of a kind.

Functional SculptureBonded Pair Chairs


Graphic Designgreeting cards

The imagery for the BONDED BIRD greeting cards came about as a result of collages I did with vintage illustrations from bird encyclopedias. Rather than photoshopping the seams where the different pieces join, I kept them as part of the compositions so that the resulting creatures would read more stronglyas collage. In so doing, collage as an art form is highlighted through the design.



Furniture DesignCNC and Special Materials

I designed the CONCAVE SIDE TABLE during my participation in a annual juried design chal-lenge called Structure, as part of IDS West. Me and 5 other designers were recruited to create furniture from LVL, a material typically used only in architectural applications. Wanting to show-case the thickness of the material and the stria-tion of the veneer layers, I designed this table top with a deep bowl carved into it using a CNC router. The bowl as the usable surface is unexpected and in some ways more effective than a completely flat table top, as it’s highly unlikely that objects will fall off of it (though they may fall into it!).

GEODE consists of strips of plywood of irregular widths sandwiched together so that a flush outer surface and an irregular internal negative space both emerge. This construction method creates a dynamic visual language that can serve as a basic aesthetic with the flexibility to take many shapes and forms, adaptable to different pieces of furniture of varying sizes. Playful, sculptural, and visu-ally stunning objects, GEODES embody both function and art.

Furniture DesignGEODE


graphic detail ofplywood endgrain negative space highlighted

by vivid colors in durable,low VOC paint

sandwiched plywood slats of varying widths create a dynamic negative space internally and smooth, usable surfaces externally

straightforward joinery which maintains the formal language of the construction and materials

GEODEProcess & Specs



Furniture DesignGEODE

Karla Tull-Esterbrook

Karla [email protected]

Karla TE-Portfolio

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