Studio Furthermore

Studio Furthermore is the collaborative practice of Marina Dragomirova and Iain Howlett, whose work explores the relationship between material invention, geological processes and speculative futures. Founded in London in 2015 after the pair met while studying on the Design Products MA at the Royal College of Art, the studio has established an international reputation for creating sculptural works that challenge conventional ideas of material, making and function. Rather than beginning with a predetermined object, Studio Furthermore often develops new materials and fabrication processes before deciding what form they will ultimately take, allowing process itself to shape the work.

Although their backgrounds differ, both founders arrived at the practice through a lifelong fascination with making and observation. Growing up in the Cotswolds, Howlett developed an early affinity for drawing, making and the natural landscape before studying at Central Saint Martins and later the Royal College of Art. Dragomirova was raised in Sofia, Bulgaria, where growing up within a family of architects fostered an enduring interest in the relationship between space, form and human experience. After completing her education in Sofia, she moved to London to undertake her master’s degree at the Royal College of Art, where the two began a creative partnership that has remained central to the studio ever since.

From the outset, Studio Furthermore sought to work beyond the conventions of product design. Their practice evolved through an ongoing programme of research into geology, volcanology, science and material culture, building an extensive library of samples, experiments and self-developed materials that continues to inform every new body of work. Glass, ceramic, lava stone and metal frequently appear alongside proprietary materials developed within the studio, each selected for its ability to convey unfamiliar tactile and visual qualities while retaining a sense of permanence. Physical making and digital technologies exist in constant dialogue, with drawing, hand-carving, scanning and modelling feeding into fabrication through long-standing collaborations with specialist foundries and makers.

The studio’s work occupies an increasingly fluid territory between collectible design, sculpture and material research. While function often provides the initial framework, it is never the principal objective. Instead, each work invites viewers to reconsider the origins of the materials before them, creating objects that appear simultaneously ancient and unfamiliar, as though they belong to an alternative geological history.

Studio Furthermore’s work is held in the permanent collections of the Vitra Design Museum, MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, and CID Grand-Hornu, Belgium. Their projects have been exhibited internationally and published widely, and in 2025 their Moon Rock project was selected for permanent installation on the Moon through the Moon Gallery Foundation in collaboration with the European Space Agency. As the practice continues to evolve, the studio is increasingly extending its material research beyond the scale and conventions of collectible design towards larger architectural and public works, while remaining committed to discovering new material realities through experimentation and making.