This special festive episode is slightly different because, as we come to the end of 2023, we thought it would be interesting to talk to someone who has had a breakthrough year.  And we couldn’t think of anyone that description fits better than UK-based designer, Simone Brewster. In June, Simone held her first solo exhibition at the NOW Gallery on London’s Greenwich Peninsular, entitled The Shape of Things. While, in September, her installation Spirit of Place with cork company, Amorim, opened on the Strand in the centre of the capital.  These came with what amounts to a blizzard of publicity, including a profile in the New York Times. In short, she has been hard to avoid. In this episode Simone and Grant talk about: her brilliant year; how The Shape of Things informed her practice; creating ‘intimate architecture’ with furniture and jewellery; her (occasionally extraordinary) use of colour; the importance of taking herself seriously; the thinking behind her best-known pieces, The Negress and The Mammy; painting during the pandemic; why people didn’t know what to do with her work; working with cork; her issues with studying architecture; making as salvation; not fitting in… until now; and her plans for 2024.  We’re delighted that this episode has been sponsored by the American Hardwood Export Council Europe. You can find its excellent podcast Words on Wood here:  https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/words-on-wood/id1559894669.  It’s well worth checking out. Support the show