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A Magical Rug Ride with Chris Haughton.

On October 20th Karl (Senior Designer) and Paul (Founder) had the pleasure of attending the Northern Design Festival and a talk by children’s illustrator and co-founder of ‘made by NODE’, Chris Haughton. Here’s Karl’s thoughts on what turned out to be quite the ‘magical rug ride’.


 

Chris is well known in the industry for his playful yet textured enigmatic style of creating creatures in a way which carries a brilliant charm that engages with audiences of all ages.

We were of course aware of Chris from our work on the promotional materials produced for this years Northern Design Festival but little did we know that there would be such an inspirational story to coincide with his art.

As our very own Paul Alderson was kindly invited by Design Event to take part in the talk as Chair of the Q&A for the night, we spent some time with Chris before the event kicked off…

As our very own Paul Alderson was kindly invited by Design Event to take part in the talk as Chair of the Q&A for the night, we spent some time with Chris before the event kicked off, we soon realised that he was sincerely enthusiastic and motivated by all things design, which was brilliantly reflected in the story he had in store for us.

Chris presented the assembled crowd with a series of images accompanied by dialogue which led the audience through the career of an illustrator with a huge passion for their craft. A story of a talented Irishman that was constantly in search of the perfect project. Something that I’m sure all creatives can relate to!

That said, we learnt that Chris did actually seem to discover his perfect project after all.

His Journey led him to Nepal where he discovered Kumbeshwar Technical School, a non-profit adult school which trains disadvantaged adults to create stunningly hand crafted woven rugs which instantly inspired him as he saw so much potential from the organisation he stumbled across.

He had embraced the very thing that set him aside from his counterparts, his vision of his own personality/brand. Through his vision he found a promise to deliver his work in such a way that he would in turn be helping the world of fair trade.

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By working closely with his contacts in Nepal (who’s ingenious talents were previously exhausted on weaving Manchester United crests to earn their bread and butter) Chris began to apply his illustrations to their traditional handmade rugs which then (through the power of social media) created great demand from the UK and US market, initially sparked by his friends working within the creative industries. He soon realised that he had to develop a tool to give to the many illustrators who wanted to get involved.

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With a clear set of guidelines on setting up artwork for rug makers in Nepal (there’s a first!) Chris’ organisation began to flourish along with the community of fair trade suppliers. At this point I think it’s safe to say Node as an organisation was fast establishing itself as a successful design disruptor.

Chris continues to create work for the businesses back in Nepal and also continues to develop his brand through his sincere and thoughtful approach to the industry which takes him around the world talking to people like us about his experiences.

All in all it was a great night and a huge inspiration, leaving us with the thought of… Where can our own ambitions take us? Not only independently but collectively? It’s certainly clear that collaboration has been key to Chris’ ongoing magical rug ride!


 

 

Find Chris’ full story at www.madebynode.com and for more info on the remaining events at the brilliant design festival Newcastle visit design-event.co.uk