Ep5 - Pancakes & Creativity w/Aimee Furnival of Another Studio

Aimee Furnival of Another Studio for Design photo by Diana Patient @diazapan

Aimee Furnival of Another Studio for Design photo by Diana Patient @diazapan

This week I'll be looking at pancakes and chatting to Aimee Furnival, Founder and Director of Another Studio. Aimee and I made pancakes together, something we have done countless times. Pancakes are the popular breakfast food that are generally enjoyed on the weekend, at brunch or special occasions. It's always a special occasion to spend time with Aimee who is a truly wonderful friend and a creative inspiration. Over pancakes we chatted about creativity, similarities between cooking and design processes and how design affects the items that surround us in our kitchens and dining rooms and as we prepare and share our meals.  As well as special occasions pancakes have traditional links to many different religious holidays but their roots go back much farther than organised religion. This episode will look at how and why the flat, round pancake is universally enjoyed across the world in different variations and how this has been represented in art, history and design.

Another Studio is a craft-design practice creating original products for the desk, home and workplace. At the heart of their studio is the notion that a creative idea combined with playful material exploration will result in brilliant designs. Inspired by origami they work with sheet material; be it paper, metal or wood; transforming something flat into a 3D form. They innovate by combining traditional materials with modern production methods and mix machine and handmade processes to produce a diverse range of products, ranging from page markers to pendent lights. Browse their many beautiful products on their shop or follow them on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. Following the Another Studio images are images and paintings as mentioned in this podcast episode. There's also a special guest appearance on the podcast by Stanley the Sausage Dog!

Smy Goodness pancake brunch - photo by @elcidre

Smy Goodness pancake brunch - photo by @elcidre

Pancake Print by Smy Goodness

Pancake Print by Smy Goodness

1585 recipe for pancakes from The Good Huswifes Jewell, British Library

1585 recipe for pancakes from The Good Huswifes Jewell, British Library

Hieronymus Francken the Younger or Hieronymus II - Still life with pottery, herring and pancakes, a print of an owl on the wall, 1604

Hieronymus Francken the Younger or Hieronymus II - Still life with pottery, herring and pancakes, a print of an owl on the wall, 1604

Rembrandt - The Pancake Woman, 1635

Rembrandt - The Pancake Woman, 1635

Mrs Pepperpot and Mr Pepperpot enjoy pancakes

Mrs Pepperpot and Mr Pepperpot enjoy pancakes

The evolution of Aunt Jemima

The evolution of Aunt Jemima

The pancake work of Tiger Tomato, you can see more of their work on theiror follow them on Instagram

A few years back I decided to bundle all my interests together and rebrand from Smy Chutney to Smy Goodness so that all my preserves, crafts, products and workshops could live together in one place. My own podcast seemed a suitable place to uncover, understand and enjoy things related to food, art, history and design. Please do share your stories, knowledge, questions and suggestions. In the Smy Goodness.com podcast section you will find the podcasts and all the items that we are discussing and will have ongoing discussions about each week.

You can also follow Smy Goodness on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. I'd like to thank Matteo Borea for creating the music and Ashley Palmer for assisting with recording gear and queries. Thank you for listening.