Paul Kelley, the owner and designer of his eponymous company, began working with timber in the late 1970s as a carpenter and guitar maker. In the early 1990s, he began to focus his career on furniture making and had his first group show in 1993 in London, which in turn led to his first commission to build and design the shop for London’s Design Museum. In 1994 he moved to the USA where he was inspired by architecture, the car culture and the American art scene, influences which can still be seen in his work today. Upon returning to the UK in 2000, Paul worked in interior design before opening Paul Kelley in 2004. Here he creates freestanding pieces of furniture, which he first sketches by hand before creating an intricate model of every piece before production. Paul’s designs stand out as he works with materials not usually associated with handmade furniture, such as acrylic, laminates, aluminium and even felt, concrete and copper.
After twenty years working in furniture design, Paul Kelley is now one of the UK’s most innovative designers with an international reputation for both interiors and freestanding furniture. By pushing the boundaries of traditional and accepted furniture materials, Paul Kelley has gone on to win a Wallpaper Design Award, be nominated for the Arts Foundation Fellowship, and even be short listed for the position of designing a new business class section for Lufthansa.
“This is furniture for now and forever.” (Paul Kelley)
