#5 Craig Bamford, craftsman and sculptor, in his East End workshop
'There’s no limit with creativity, you can keep expanding into different realms.'
British artist, architect, designer and master craftsman Craig Bamford is based in a spacious workshop in east London filled with artworks, timber and a wall of tools. His brand SASA Works (sasa means ‘now’ in Swahili) is known for holistic and sustainable collections of furniture, lighting, sculpture and spaces. A spirituality and reverence for nature threads throughout his work, in the organic form of the Babu Chair or the elegance of a kinetic lunar sculpture.
Rooted in his Kenyan upbringing, where the influence of the wild landscape and a focus on the handmade informed his founding philosophy, Bamford draws on traditional tools and elemental materials. SASA Works, which exudes and quiet luxury, has been exhibited at Hauser & Wirth Somerset and Blue Mountain School, and featured in World of Interiors and The New Craftsmen among others.
SASA Works’ forthcoming show, titled ‘Alchemy and Form’ opens at Blue Mountain School in Shoreditch, London on October 10th.
Bamford lives in east London with artist and collaborator Işik Sayarer.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY TARA DARBY
Creative space Spaciousness, calm, ideally almost like a temple. Everything is sacred, the materials, the tools. Reverence to all these things.
Morning routine At home, Işik and I have lemon water and meditate together in bed first thing for about half an hour. Then we chat about our dreams. life and what the day brings. We have a treehouse, so our bed is really high up, higher than the rest of the house. It feels like our sacred little space. For breakfast in winter, it’s porridge or toast and eggs. Işik makes Turkish breakfast with salad, toast, eggs, lots of fresh herbs, sometimes cheese. I like a second breakfast too.
Rituals In the studio I light incense, and bless the space before and after just quickly by saying it. I talk to aspects of what I’m making – out loud, if no one’s here. I bless what I drink. I remember hearing how vibration has so much effect on water molecules. If I’m feeling a bit tired or flat, I’ll go meditate for a bit and that normally charges me up, even if it’s for 10 minutes. I just try to empty and focus.
Guilty pleasure I look up sports highlights quite often. I went to a very sporty boarding school as a kid, so I haven’t lost my love of sport. I don’t really like using my phone but sometimes it feels like I just need a break to check out for 10 minutes.
Childhood ambition I was always a maker. My dad had a workshop, so he let me make stuff from a very young age. As a kid I really wanted a wooden pirate ship. On the coast in Africa there are dhows, traditional wooden sailing ships, which trade up the east coast of Africa. They’re rarer now but I still love them. I’d love to make one.
Tools and techniques I originally studied metalwork and I’ve had this oxy-acetylene torch for 30 years. It still works well particularly for small welding. I’ve got an old Portuguese steel anvil for 10 years. I saw it in an antique shop in Bath. It’s beautiful because you can see how much it’s been worked. It’s at least 100 years old. To most blacksmiths it would be useless because it’s not flat.
Table saw This table saw built in the 1960s is one of my beloveds. It’s a hardwearing, beautiful machine with a big blade that emerges. Modern table saws nowadays are made in aluminium and would last maybe 15 years. I got this from a college which explains why it was well maintained. The old manual is just extraordinary.
Timber I feel a pull toward certain pieces of wood. There’s definitely an energetic relationship. I’m most drawn to Elm and oak. Elm is quite magical and mystical as a wood; it’s ancient. There are some I would hesitate to use, such as new African or Brazilian wood because it’s not going to be from a sustainable source. I have an old railway sleeper here which dates to the Victoria times. The Victorians would clear out forests in these tropical countries and just ship them here, so, the old railroads were made up of all kinds of amazing, different trees.
Studio soundtrack I like silence. I sometimes listen to frequencies. I’ve been listening to Alan Watts, the philosopher from the Sixties, on YouTube. He has an amazing way about him. He talks a lot about freedom of the human spirit referencing Zen and Buddha, but he puts it in such a wonderful way.
Bits and bobs This bone is actually a sheep or goat bone we found in Turkey, where Işik is from. I just think the form is so beautiful, like wings. What a design! We’ve shipped it from pillar to post for the last 15 years.
Talismans This man has been with me since I was a little boy. My sister gave him to me when I was five years old. She did a tour somewhere in Kenya and came back with two of them. I named him wasi wasi, which is Swahili for crazy. It is called a ‘devil chaser’ because it keeps the bad spirits out of your house. He’s travelled with me many places. It’s made to look like ebony but it’s actually African hardwood.
Artistic intuition As I get older, I trust my intuitive making more and more. We all have that intuition when you’re creative and sometimes you’re led down a creative process that doesn’t necessarily make sense, but you keep going. I trust that more, as opposed to shutting myself off and using my rational brain.
Kinetic lunar sculpture The kinetic pieces came from that process of just allowing a bit more freedom. I work as an architect which can be very serious and technical. There’s something nice about these more playful pieces that also have a reflection on the delicate balance of our solar system. I discovered that the moon, if it was half a mile too near, would crash and if it was half a mile too far it would disappear. There are so many remarkable things like that.
Gravestone This stone is going to be part of the grave for a good friend of mine Mark Hayduk who passed away a few years ago. It was brought here by his family from his place in France. I’ve been asked to make the edging around his grave, alongside various objects gathered during his life. He was my teacher when I studied architecture; a very inspiring man who died young, suddenly, in his mid-fifties. He was a big loss to many, so it’s a real honour to be trusted to do this.
Spirituality I really like the idea we’re all interconnected, and that what we can connect to is infinite, when we decide to open ourselves and let go of our own barriers. I remember reading an article with Paul McCartney and he said, ‘I never wrote a song; it just came through me’. I think that’s true. There’s no limit with creativity, you can keep expanding into different realms.
Letting go What’s quite interesting as an artist is you’re always letting go of pieces, because you make them and you give them to people, or you sell them. It’s not hard. Işik finds it really hard; I feel more relief.
Building a nest Three years ago, we bought some land from an old couple in the Valley of Gardunha near the Serra da Estrela mountain range. We’re building an outdoor workshop space with a roof that is open to the elements. It’s multifunctional for eating, making, sorting the olives. In time, we’ll build cabins for people to rest. In essence, we’re building a nest, where all the different threads of the work come together.
Support Craig’s work at sasaworks.co.uk // @sasa_works
THE MINUTES // CRAIG BAMFORD // STUDIO SNOOPER
1. SASA Works’ show, ‘Alchemy and Form’, at Blue Mountain School
2. AltanTepe in rural Portugal
3. Babu Chair
4. ‘Moonlight’ kinetic light sculpture
5. Alan Watts, the philosopher, on YouTube
I DEVOURED this. What a treat to see all the beautiful tools a craftsman needs and cherishes. Such an inspiring read ❤️
This is glorious. It’s so wonderful to see craftsmanship in action! More makers please.