1990 – 2010
TWENTY YEARS OF FOURTH FLOOR
From its inception in 1990, Fourth Floor has been a hairdressing studio that has done things differently. It’s based in Clerkenwell, an area of London then considered somewhat outre, atop a 1930s industrial building; access is via a vintage goods lift. It is light, airy, and serene; the antithesis of the excitable ambience more common to such establishments. It has actively shunned publicity; its reputation for understated excellence was spread by its diverse clientele – artists, lawyers, designers, journalists. Its fixtures and fittings – Tom Dixon furniture, an Aboriginal burial pole, a Brad Lochore painting – and its eclectic soundtrack – Tindersticks, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Boards Of Canada –
combined to create, in the words of one regular, “a strange mix of functionality and quiet quirkiness.” It was a place that forswore gimmickry and the ephemeral in favour of efficacy and the immutable. To celebrate Fourth Floor’s twentieth anniversary, owner Richard Stepney has collaborated with the design agency North to produce a 154-page limited edition cloth-bound book that encapsulates the Fourth Floor aesthetic. Curator and writer Andrew Renton analyses just what it is that makes Fourth Floor so different, so appealing; fellow clients Jon Snow and Nigel Slater provide, respectively, a psychogeographic guide to London WC1 (Fourth Floor’s locale), and a selection of recipes based on the–
ingredients in the Fourth Floor product line. Photo essays photographed by North document the creation of Fourth Floor’s twentieth anniversary flag, designed by bespoke tailor Timothy Everest, and the Italian factories and cities where Fourth Floor’s meticulously-crafted shampoos and conditioners were researched and developed. Like Fourth Floor itself, the book combines clarity with scrupulous attention to detail to create something unique and highly covetable. In an age of relentless homogenisation, Fourth Floor remains a one-off. Twenty years on, the book is a gift to its fiercely loyal clientele, a testament to its continuing singularity, and a beautifully wrought object in its own right.
Design
North
Typography
Bureau Grotesque FiveOne
Bureau Grotesque ThreeSeven
DTL Vanden Keere SD Regular
DTL Vanden Keere SD Medium
DTL Vanden Keere D Caps Bold
Elementa Bold
Photography
Pages 5–6: Tara Darby
Page 7: Jan Baldwin
Pages 42–49: Barney Stepney (North)
Pages 55–57: Peter Liversidge
Pages 48–52: Jeremy Coysten (North)
Pages 75–156 Jeremy Coysten (North)
Printed and bound in the UK by
The Colourhouse
www.thecolourhouse.com
+44(0)20 8305 8305
Paper
Pages 1–88: Oikos 100 gr/m2 50% recycled content FSC Certified
Pages 89–100: Sirio Colour Limone 80 gr/m2 FSC Certified
Pages 101–156: Symbol Freelife Gloss 115 gr/m2 25% Recycled content FSC Certified
All papers are:
– 100% recyclable
– Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF)
– PH Neutral
– Long Life
– Heavy Metal Absence CE94/62
Supplied by Fedrigoni UK Ltd.
www.fedrigoni.co.uk
Cover material
Cover 1: Natuur Linen 2040
Cover 2: Half Linen Light
Cover 3: Natuur Linen 1085
Cover 4: Natuur Linen 1137
Supplied by Winter & Co. Ltd.
www.winter-company.com
During these Summer months things tend to get a little slower around here – studios go on holiday which generally means less updates; but you now what? Sometimes having less updates makes you appreciate the work even more especially if that work was designed by none other than North, a studio revered and respected for producing exceptional, thought-provoking design.
Now North have been perceived to carry an air of mystery and intrigue about them – they’re one of the hardest working studios in design, yet they generally prefer to stay under the publicity radar. With that said, I’m absolutely honored to be able to publish an Exclusive/Offical North feature for the very first time online. As Stephen (from North) explains:
“We’ve created a book to celebrate 20 years of the legendary Clerkenwell hairdressers Fourth Floor. It’s been beautifully produced by The Colourhouse with some lovely Fedrigoni papers and we wanted to repay the generosity of the printer and the paper supplier by giving the project a bit of exposure.”
In addition to these photographs of the book, the folks at North were kind enough to send in additional images that reference the other work they have been producing for Fourth Floor over the past 20 years. A sincere thank you goes out to Jeremy, Sean and Stephen for sharing all these images and for making this feature possible. :)
If you’re unfamiliar with the work of North I definitely suggest taking a look at this gargantuan feature that was posted back in January.
If you’re new to SI, don’t forget to Subscribe, FFFFOUND! & follow SI on Twitter for your weekly dose of visual crack. ;)
This post is tagged
Books,
Branding,
Collateral,
Fourth Floor,
North,
North Design,
Packaging
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