AP Focus: Darts

BY Manchester Craft and Design Centre

09/06/17

 

Simply named ‘Darts’, we turn our focus onto the works of designer-maker Joe Hartley and illustrator & printmaker Rob Bailey. They collaborated both their individual aesthetic and making techniques to form a completely alternative take on the classic dart – something we all have thrown in abandon at a local pub without noticing the finer details.

The darts have tungsten shafts, wooden barrels and paper flights and apparently ‘throw like a dream’!

These darts have made appearances at the Pilcrow pub which they were originally were created for, as part of the contemporary, hands-on style of the Sadlers Yard pub – a pub project which Joe Hartley headed up from the beginning. They were also featured at the Whitworth Art Gallery’s D’Arts festival alongside a handmade board with a concertina folded backing which recorded every attempt. These large paper circles are kept and archived as a record of the event where they took place, so for once it’s a good thing if you miss!

Concertina Dart Board

 

 

Rob and Joe are both Manchester-based designers. Rob’s distinctive imagery has led to him work for a variety of high profile clients including Transport for London and Google. Joe is a designer who explores old and new materials and processes. As well as making his own work, he has worked on large-scale projects including Common, the Pilcrow pub, and most recently PLANT.

We love these bright, modern and playful pieces of well-crafted design, they make us smile and we hope they make you smile too!