Thomas Leech
Duration
The RCA / Eddie Mundy “Brilliant” Award Fellowship supports an exceptional graduate from the Royal College of Art (RCA) Design Products course with the time and space to further develop ideas established at college within a stimulating environment of professional artists working in a diverse range of mediums.
The residency is a partnership between Cove Park, the Royal College of Art (RCA) and the Eddie Mundy “Brilliant” Award.
With over a decade of experience working across the design industry, from commercial white goods to luxury fashion; Thomas brings a unique creative approach to problem solving and user centred design. Having won the Ellen MacArthur scholarship in 2015, Tom has become passionate about the power of everyday products to get people engaged with a sustainable story.
Graduating with an MA from the Royal College of Art, he emerges with a renewed interest in design and sustainability and a fresh expertise in circular economy thinking. Tom spent the final year of his recent MA looking at how to commercialise waste leather off cuts from the fashion industry. His graduation project focused on a new way of making children’s shoes made entirely from this waste resource. However, the commercial focus of the project distracted from the chance to fully explore the beauty of the leather and therefore this will be the starting point for the residency in September.
The Eddie Mundy “Brilliant” Award was initiated in 2012 by friends and family of the late Eddie Mundy, a previous RCA student and member of staff. The Award aims to celebrate Eddie’s original personality and experimental approach to design by awarding a graduate displaying a similar flair and spirit a great opportunity to be brilliant! The 2015 recipient was Gemma Roper.