Fred Rigby
Furniture and Interior Designer
Meet Fred Rigby, an interiors and furniture designer whose work spans from home objects and furniture to retail, gallery and restaurant spaces.
As a longtime friend and design collaborator of the brand, he is the creative mind behind LESTRANGE’s retail spaces, blending his meticulous eye and affinity for organic shapes and materials with our vision of creating calm spaces in connection with nature. Some of his work extends into the contemporary art gallery, Francis Gallery in Bath, as well as the newly opened deep dish pizza & natural wine bar, Ria’s. His approach is beyond conventional, shaping spaces that are not only functional but also create visual interest and tranquility. In this conversation, we delve into Fred's creative process, inspirations drawn from diverse sources, and the deliberate choices that have defined his career.
LESTRANGE
How did you start your design career? Have you always started with furniture, or was it interiors first and then venturing into home objects?
Fred
I graduated in Furniture Design and began my career working in set design and art direction for music videos and commercials, I was randomly asked to help design a menswear store in Shoreditch, which led to designing retail spaces, hotels and restaurants, leading to working with brands like Lestrange. The stores became a showcase for our work, acting as a physical calling card leading to designing furniture for private clients homes. For example, when we were designing Francis Gallery, we also designed a desk and sofa for the space and naturally, they became part of our collection. A lot of the pieces have been informed by the spaces that we designed.
LESTRANGE
What's the strangest place you've found inspiration?
Fred
You can find inspiration everywhere. I could be in an airport in Copenhagen and notice a unique-shaped handle. It could be any object, shape or pattern that you may not even notice and walk by everyday. And that could inform our next sofa design! Even the most unassuming objects like water towers, which are incredibly industrial but they blend into nature beautifully and they may have interesting details.
