About John Hollington Design
John Hollington Design is a Yorkshire-based studio specialising in the design and making of high-quality lighting and objects for home and garden. The studio was formed to produce pieces inspired by the careful minimalism and geometrical forms of modernist art and architecture.
John Hollington founded his studio in York in 2015. He originally trained as a draughtsman then as an engineer, working for many years in this role for civil and structural engineering consultants. In 2012, he made a conscious move to apply his engineering skills, deep understanding of materials and love of modern design in a new sector, by studying for a BA degree in product design at York St John University.
His pieces sell direct to architects and interior designers, particularly for boutique hotels and modern residential refurbishments. John also enjoys working on commissions and collaborations.
Some of the garden products are available at select, art and design-related retailers, such as SCP, Henry Moore Foundation, Yorkshire Sculpture Park and The Hepworth.
Sustainable, Beautiful, Ethical Design
We produce ethical, sustainable pieces, based on a cradle-to-cradle philosophy and use finite resources with care.
We work with family-run workshops, suppliers and couriers who give their workers a decent, secure living wage. Britain has a rich heritage of quality manufacturers using traditional materials. We are proud to use and support some of these artisan firms - for example for our metal spinning.
Our designs combine attention to detail and quality of craftsmanship to produce products that can be cherished and last a lifetime. We give the end user long-lived, beautiful pieces at affordable prices, without any mark-ups added on for distributors or middle-men.
We use:
low energy LED bulbs
pre and post consumer recycled and recyclable materials such as steel, brass and aluminium
low impact packaging - from biodegradable, recycled and recyclable materials
harvested rainwater for the weathering process of our Corten steel
local suppliers to keep product miles very low
100% renewable (wind and solar) energy to power, light and heat our studio + workshop
Awards
2020 - Toast, New Maker
2019 - [d]arc awards, shortlisted for decorative lighting
2017 & 2016 - Northern Design Awards, finalist
2016 - Northern Design Festival, award winner for best use of materials
2015 - New Designers, Absolut Loves, one of top 30 designs at show
2015 - Aesthetica Art Prize, long-listed for 3D design
2014 - New Design Britain, finalist
Exhibitions & Shows
2024 - Handmade for Christmas 2024, Sheffield Museums
2023 - Project Giving Back Exibition, Martyn Wilson/RSPCA Garden, Garden Museum, London
2023 - RHS Chelsea, The RSPCA Sanctury Garden Silver Gilt Medal Winner, Designed by Martyn Wilson featuring our garden product designs
2022 & 2023 - Modern Shows, Dulwich, London
2021 - Toast, Makers Space, Shorditch, London
2017, 2018 & 2019 - Clerkenwell Design Week
2019 - Maison & Objet Show, Wood & Wire x John Hollington Design collaboration on Cubes, a modernist storage unit
2017 - Yorkshire Sculpture Park, MADE showcase
2016 - Design Event, Newcastle
2016 - London Design Festival, featured at Super Brands
2016 - Top Drawer, London
2016 - The Hepworth Wakefield - Yorkshire: Hepworth, Moore and the Landscape showcase
2015 - New Designers, London
2014 - Interiors UK, Birmingham NEC
Local Art & Design Collaborations
2022, 2023 & 2024 - York Open Studios
2019 - An Exhibition of Social Design for York Design Week
2019 - display design for Baby Come Home, an installation by Gaia Blandini in York
2019 - lighting display for Bloom, York
2018 - display design for Art + Activism, Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York