Kate Fine, designer
I set up my business eight years ago, specialising in designing mirrored furniture and lighting. I'm always keen to experiment with new materials and techniques, but some of my most popular pieces use elements from the past, such as a classic damask motif from old wallpaper that is reworked and then applied to modern furniture, such as a coffee table or wall light. I try to incorporate an element of multifunctionality, so that something can be used differently, such as wall mirrors that be hung in various ways.
Next week I've a collection of wall mirrors going into Habitat. They are collaborations with four young Irish photographic, graphic and graffiti artists - Aidan Kelly, Morgan, Pi and Will St Leger. I used images created by the artists and transferred them, through a tricky printing process, on to slender mirrored boxes that can be hung from a wall. They are lit from within to create a moody effect when the light shines through the image. They're fun and light-hearted but beautiful, too, I hope. One mirror is called Victoria Femme Fatale and uses Will St Leger's portrait of an armed Victoria Beckham. Others are of a Madonna with halo and ghetto blaster, also by St Leger, a woman wearing a Taliban scarf, by Pi, and a whimsical spacey scene by Aidan Kelly.
I was inspired to do this series by street art I saw in Paris, and because I wanted to collaborate with others and try to combine my work with theirs to come up with something special.
I also used my own patterns on some mirrors. Why mirror? A hundred years ago mirrors were ornate and a focal point in a room, but today, because lots of people live in small apartments or houses, they're also a very functional way of creating the illusion of space. Because I like things to be multifunctional, at night the mirrors turn into an atmospheric light source. They have the latest remote-control LEDs inside, with different settings, such as still, flashing or pulsating lights in all sorts of colours. The light brings the artwork alive. In conversation with Eoin Lyons
Kate Fine's made-to-order wall mirrors for Habitat are available in the Dublin branch from next Tuesday, €450-€1,100. Contact Kate Fine at 01-6703699 or www.finedesign.ie