Plaey - Matt Kelly

Family Welcome Desk @tatestives It was a treat to visit @tatestives and see our Family Welcome Desk in its home – welcoming little ones and big ones into a world of art, curiosity, and making. Designed with care, colour, and community in mind. So lovely to meet the fantastic team at TATE and see the space full of that St Ives light! Proud to be working with @tate Materials Orange Valchromat @valchromat_official & Plywood Supplied by @lathamsltd #PlaeyWorkshop #FamilyWelcomeDesk #TateStIves #DesignForPlay #SeaAndStudio #CreativeSpaces #PlayfulDesign #Valchromat #Plywood #Plaey

We’ve been lucky to have the brilliant @jimmarsdenphotography in the workshop with us lately. We’ve followed Jim’s work for a long time—his work with @paynterjacket , @thedolectures and @hiutdenim is always spot on. He’s been helping us with a couple of new things (more on those soon). In the meantime here’s some behind the scenes photos Jim captured of me and the lovely @espeedina . More to come on this project too! Thanks Jim! #35mm #photography #bts #workshop #jimmarsden #collaboration #emilyspeed #process #samples #valchromat #colours #simple #playful #modular #plaey

Record Store Day — has got us thinking about how much we love making furniture for storing / displaying records. Ace times working with @ash_kollakowski on the furniture for @witheggstore And one of our all time favourite projects with @alexishotchip and @hot.chip - A Dolly Full of Records to See. Dolly photos by @indiahobson #recordstore #vinyl #collection #records #cratedigging #goodvibes #dolly #plywood #valchromat #furniture #hotchip #withegg #plaey

Art Cart for Boathouse 4 @portsmouth.historic.quarter We had lots of fun making this one, including elements from their graphic identity - like the sawtooth roof line and their yellow boat crane. The @valchromat_official palette was a perfect match for their brand colours too making this one of our most playful designs yet. Materials Colour panels @valchromat_official Plywood @garnicaplywood Solid surface top @himacseurope Supplied by @lathamsltd #artcart #museums #gallery #playful #furniture

Dream collaboration with @henrymoorestudios We were commissioned to design & make a bespoke trolley for their brand new Sheep Field Barn gallery & education space. The ‘Explore with Moore’ trolley brief was — Overall shape & form to talk to Henry Moore’s sculptures. Include a cabinet of curiosities that visitors curate by collecting then displaying natural objects they find around the gardens. A space to display & celebrate work that is created in the various workshops. To be made from Douglas Fir to match the interior of the spaces designed by @dsdha_architecture It was a joy working with @annieshroart_ and the team @henrymoorestudios to develop this trolley / functional sculpture. A huge thanks to our friends at @lathamsltd for finding us the perfect 3-ply Douglas Fir product to make it from. Voice over @annieshroart_ Some bts footage by @mat_buckets and @ambergraceknowsaplace #plywood #furniture #design #learning #plaey

How do you design for community? @Mat_Buckets is back, and this time he’s taken a trip up to Saltaire to visit Matt Kelly, the designer behind @Plaey_Workshop . Working directly with his local community, Plaey is a furniture design studio making modern, affordable modular furniture that combines form, function and a sense of fun. Plaey’s work is often used in public spaces, @YSPsculpture , @ColoursMayVary and @Tate to name a few. As Mat B discusses, Plaey’s work is proof that design made and shaped by the community, for the community, benefits everyone, not just visitors. With thanks to @saltsmillofficial @village_store_saltaire Assistant videographer @ambergraceknowsaplace #INTwithMatB

New furniture for the expansion of the @witheggrecords space. A joy to collaborate again with @ash_kollakowski on this one 🤝 We especially loved making the jazzy table, the brief was a version of our Hockney table but louder! Photos by @tomjoyphoto Materials @valchromat_official @garnicaplywood Supplied by @lathamsltd #recordshop #storage #furniture #plywood #valchromat

It’s been a joy working with the amazing @gfsmithpapers It’s quite hard to sum up this collaboration, it’s felt more like a creative back and forth, almost like a design residency of sorts. What started as a slight idea about the potential of using @colorplan_papers to make furniture - was a hit with their creative team. This led to paper samples, to prototypes, testing ideas, to lots more paper samples - playing with materials slowly over several months in between other projects. I think there are currently four versions of the ColorPlaey table - but the first iteration is here and in its new home @artlinkhull This version took design cues from @t_e_m_p_l_o ‘s recent re-brand. Adding the smile inlay to the legs allowed us to simplify the table top. As for the other versions and the ideas explored these will hopefully come to life in 2026 in some form. So much potential. Thanks again to the team @gfsmithpapers for being so supportive and realising this project, it’s been ace! The super talented and my good friend @jimmarsdenphotography documented some of the process in the workshop, at the factory and at ArtLink. Thanks @jo.pitts @_jessicalampit @ben__inmotion @yeahbstill , Dave & Hannah it’s been a joy! @valchromat_official material supplied by @lathamsltd #collaboration #design #paper #valchromat #residency #colour #play #colorplan #plaey #gfsmith

We’re SO excited to finally share a collaboration project with @plaey_workshop that’s been quietly taking shape behind the scenes this year… Think modular furniture with a sense of play, paired with the colour, texture and imagination of GF Smith Colorplan. A perfect match? We think so. Introducing the ColorPlaey table - where furniture meets paper 🤝 Handcrafted in Plaey’s workshop in Saltaire, the table then journeyed to our Hull factory to meet its Colorplan components before arriving at its new home: ArtLink Hull | 87 Gallery, the local arts charity championing creativity for young people. Now proudly standing in our home city, it invites the next generation to get hands-on with colour, ideas and, of course, paper. We hope you like this project as much as we’ve loved bringing it to life! Check out @artlinkhull for more info on the table, and head to our website (link in bio) to read our full interview with Matt. 📸 by @jimmarsdenphotography

Super fun working with @witheggstore again. Sneak peek at some new furniture for their new space! Record storage unit & browsing box. Made from @garnicaplywood @valchromat_official Materials supplied by @lathamsltd #recordstore #vinyl #collection #records #cratedigging #goodvibes #plywood #valchromat #furniture #withegg #plaey

Super excited to launch this lovely collaboration with the brilliant Emily Speed @espeedina The Wormery was created to provide a beautiful, well-made, and flexible space for the children’s library area in Bootle Library. Worms agitate, dig deep, collaborate and create places for new growth, so they seemed the perfect inspiration for this space of discovery and learning. Like children, and hopefully artists too, worms can improve the spaces around them, and they are also wriggly. Produced by the amazing @linnyvenables - thank you for everything! Commissioned by @at.the.library_ an NPO partnership between @seftonlibraries and @rule_of_threes Upholstery of sofa (not pictured) by Imogen Woodings @bluebird_upholstery Materials supplied by @lathamsltd Made from @garnicaplywood plywood @valchromat_official and @himacseurope with some @jesmonite_ltd inlays. #childrenslibrary #library #storagesolutions #books #play #structure #learning #collaborate #create #seating #storage #plywood #valchromat #jesmonite #simple #playful #modular #emilyspeed #plaey

A Family Welcome Cart for The Fitzwilliam Museum. It’s been a joy working with the brilliant team at @fitzmuseum_uk to design and make their new bespoke Family Welcome Cart. To be filled with self-led activities for all ages to borrow and enjoy while exploring the galleries. We especially like the cut-outs to store & display their explorer clipboards. This one packs a lot in, and we think it might just be our favourite art cart design yet! Materials supplied by @lathamsltd Yellow and white Valchromat @valchromat_official Maple faced plywood @garnicaplywood Solid surface tops @himacseurope #FitzwilliamMuseum #DesignForPlay #CreativeLearning #MuseumDesign #PlayfulDesign #ArtCart #Furniture #Valchromat #Plywood #HIMACS #Plaey