Henry Norris | New Format
True to its namesake, New Format is a multi-faceted design studio and workshop existing at the intersection of design, and fabrication. Its team of designers and fabricators work to produce objects and spaces which honor the raw and timeless natural beauty of their materials while creating new expressions of form and finish. Whether in collaboration with industry peers, commissioned by patrons or through self-initiated experimentation in process and finish, New Format seeks to instill each of its designs with an arresting sense of physical presence, refined detailing, textural complexity and a touch of magical beauty.
The studio was founded by Henry Norris in 2016. A self-taught designer and craftsperson with a wide range of background influence and experience, Henry resolved to create a studio practice of new composition where design and experimentation holds balance with output and commerce. A place where the work is thoughtfully designed, created by human hands and built to last.
Working from Vancouver, Canada the studio engages with a range of clientele and collaborators both locally and internationally. Since launching, New Format has exhibited at ICFF, Architectural Digest Design Show (NYC, USA), IDSwest (Vancouver, Canada), Sight Unseen (NYC, USA), and FIELD TRIP (Vancouver, Canada).
My work is informed by a duality – the things we can control: precise dimensions and engineering, the process, the tools, the hands on the work – and the things we can’t: the reactions of heat, acid, touch, and time and the finishes they create. At the outset, one could say I am an industrial designer, in the physical sense of the wording – that a large part of my work is shaped by observing the outputs of manufacturing – and it’s true that I’m motivated by that continued refinement, the teamwork and system of creating an organized final result. On the other side is a humbler process, to observe the reaction of the material to input and let that guide the hand and shape the final appearance of the pieces. In contrast to the rigidity of engineering and fabrication, in this circumstance I instead choose to watch and chronicle the reactions between the materials and their environment and selectively harness those to create finishes and textures that instill some of that essence into the objects. My hope by doing so is to create work that represents that tension between the man made and the natural world.
Connect Bookcase
Blackened Steel, Polished Bronze, Walnut, Leather
42” x 16” x 84”T
New Format
Image Credit: Dylan Hamm
Connect Credenza
Blackened Steel, Aged Bronze
72” x 20” x 32”T
New Format
Image Credit: Megan McLellan
Plano Credenza
Bronze, Slumped Reeded Glass, Blackened Steel, Walnut
74”L x 19”D x 32”T
New Format
Plano Cabinet
Bronze, Slumped Frosted Glass, Blackened Steel, Leather, Walnut
91”T x 42”W x 18”D
New Format
Mers Table
Blackened Steel
36”D x 15”T
New Format
Image Credit: Dylan Hamm
Reduction Vessels
Bronze, Resin
New Format
Image Credit: Lauren Zbarsky
