Photo: Danny Bright

Stephen Burks, one of the most recognized American industrial designers of his generation, is presently collaborating with local crafts people in the developing world through his association with the non-profit Aid To Artisans, an organization creating sustainable economic and social benefits for local artisans by providing assistance in product development and distribution to the international marketplace.

Burks’ new TaTu line of furniture and tableware is being produced by Willard of Feeling African, a Capetown wire artisan who previously supported himself by creating small items for the tenuous tourist market. In Peru, Burks is working with local farmers to reinvigorate traditional craft as an alternative to the dangers of cocoa-based agriculture. Burks is also creating, in collaboration with Artecnica’s Design with Conscience initiative, a video documentary of his working process with artisans entitled Making Things, Transformation Through Design.

Burks and his New York studio, Readymade Projects, have been responsible for creative design direction on projects ranging from retail interiors and events to packaging, lighting, furniture and home accessories, for clients including Calvin Klein, Missoni and Vitra, among others. He has consistently been the first African-American industrial designer to ever collaborate with these companies, and his work has been featured in numerous design publications and journals including 1000 New Designs, Young Designers Americas, Design Secrets: Furniture, Design in Steel, the International Design Yearbook and New American Furniture Design. Burks’ projects have been exhibited at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York, Tokyo Design Week, the Salone del Mobile in Milan, the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum’s Design Triennial.

www.readymadeprojects.com

Stephen and Willard with an early prototype of his TaTu table produced by Willard of Feeling African and featured on the cover of Elle Decoration. Previous Next Close	Willard of Feeling African with early prototypes of TaTu tables and stools designed by Stephen Burks; from the Aid To Artisans mission to Cape Town, South Africa. Previous Next Close	Artecnica TaTu Collection featuring TaTu coffee & side tables, tray, bowl & basket designed by Stephen Burks, 2007 Previous Next Close
Stephen Burks and Willard of Feeling African. Photo: Readymade Projects Inc.	Willard of Feeling Africa in his township studio. Photo: Readymade Projects Inc.	Stepen Burks’ Artecnica TaTu Collection Photo: Jerry Garns for Artecnica Inc.