Interview - Scott Willats, Isokon Makers Series

Just across the road from our own workshop in Walthamstow sits another place where the smell of timber, the hum of machinery and the trace of human hands tell a story of London making. Walking into Isokon’s factory to interview Scott Willats feels instantly familiar. Different materials and different tools, but the same spirit: a commitment to problem-solving, shaping, and carrying local craft forward.

Scott is part of the next generation of makers keeping that lineage alive. As Isokon’s Digital Manufacturing Specialist, he works at the intersection of heritage and technology, translating ideas into forms through CNC, CAD/CAM and hands-on experimentation. His journey, from building toys out of cardboard as a child to shaping moulds for contemporary plywood furniture, reflects the same curiosity and care we value in our own atelier.

In this conversation we step into his world, where digital innovation meets the legacy of one of Britain’s most iconic furniture makers and where craft continues to evolve just a stone’s throw from our doorstep.

Let’s start at the beginning – can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you first got into making things?

My name is Scott and I am the Digital Manufacturing Specialist at Isokon. I studied Industrial design at Brunel University and have since expanded into the manufacturing world, mainly working with CAD/CAM and CNC reductive and additive manufacturing.

I’ve been making things for as long as I can remember. My brother taught me how to sketch when I was very young and I spent my playtime making my own toys from cardboard packaging, forever covered in glue and tape. I was like a cat you buy a toy for and they end up going wild with the box.

What was your first experience in a real workshop like? What do you remember feeling?

At secondary school I naturally leaned into my creative tendencies - creative writing, art and design. This was my first access to a workshop and I was inseparable from it. I remember trying to work through the curriculum at light speed so I could work on my personal projects. Really basic stuff but incredibly formative.

How did that hands-on interest evolve into studying industrial design at university? And what was that like for you?

It evolved naturally, I suppose! Designing for the world around me was something I was already doing without really realising it. My time at Brunel was a tough gauntlet but it shaped how I evolved as a problem solver and I bring those design and project management skills into everything I do now.

You mentioned your final year project was selected by VF Corporation’s Global Innovation Initiative. What did that experience teach you about industry collaboration and innovation?

Working with Thinking Additive and VF was a really fantastic learning experience for a recent graduate, if a little daunting! The project was all about creating and implementing bleeding edge 3D printing technologies for the fabrication of smart footwear. It required a lot of tight collaboration with really bright people and it taught me the importance of working with tight time and resource constraints, for sure.

Before joining Isokon, you worked on a factory floor milling plastics for aerospace and automotive — what lessons from that world do you bring into your current work?

This was my first proper job before uni. In that world, attention to detail and accuracy is paramount, working with tolerances of 100ths of a millimeter with very tight QA! I don’t have to be quite so accurate now I’m working in furniture, but the attention to detail certainly helps.

For those who aren’t familiar could you describe your role at Isokon today? What’s a typical day for you, if there is one?

We’re a super lean crew and so we all wear a lot of hats. I was originally employed to run the CNC mill; programming and operating the machines to produce timber parts and moulds for the makers at the bench. My roles have since expanded and I now do a lot of Design for Manufacture work, developing the design team’s ideas to be manufacturable in our workshop, thinking about the efficiency of processes. This also involves a lot of CAD/CAM, draughting technical drawings and writing manufacturing guidelines so it can be a really varied role.

You’ve got a strong focus on digital fabrication. What excites you about CNC work, and what are some misconceptions people might have about it?

I love being able to carve complex forms and geometries that would otherwise be impossible by hand. All digital manufacturing methods open up new possibilities and that’s where innovative ideas can be explored. There may be a misconception that CNCs are antithetical to craft/ making but I just see it as another tool in the belt.

You mentioned the most exciting jobs are often small batch and bespoke. Could you walk us through one of your favourite recent projects and how you approached it?

We recently made furniture for the Skinner’s hall renovation on Dowgate Hill in the City of London.. We made some elegant alcove benches for the basement hall and though their aesthetic is refined and unadorned, there were some really tricky machinings to figure out and it all came together really seamlessly. They’re lovely pieces.

Isokon has a legacy in plywood furniture, how does it feel to be part of that lineage, and what challenges come with designing and making moulds for it today?

All the mould making we do passes through the CNC mill. The NPD projects are some of the most fun for me as I get to really deconstruct the geometry that we’re trying to produce and figure out how to machine the moulds. The digital workflow allows us to produce some really interesting shapes and it's exciting to be a part of Isokon’s legacy.

Looking back, what do you think you rebelled against as a teenager? 

French lessons!

What’s your favourite piece of furniture at home  and why? Is it a design classic, or something more personal?

Living in London, I don’t have a lot of room for furniture, but I’m very fond of the Round Chair by Hans Wegner, the version with the cane seat specifically. As for my own furniture, a few years ago I made an oak media unit with a patterned, sliding tambour door - I have a thing for mid-century modern.

What do you think makes something an iconic design? Is it function, material, story… or something else?

I would say that icons are normally born from innovation, and innovation is normally facilitated by new technologies that allow for fresh solutions to problems, new and old.

What advice would you give to young designers or makers just starting out, especially those who are more digitally inclined like yourself?

For the digitally inclined, I’d say get your hands dirty. You’ll learn so much from hands-on work and I think a lot of young designers are very disconnected from how things are made. That foundational knowledge is essential to make physical things, especially if you design them digitally.

In your view, what do we need to provide; as an industry or a culture — to help the next generation of makers thrive?

Opportunity and experience.

Thanks you Scott for sharing your experiences and thoughts!