For Simone Brewster, It’s Hands-On

As part of the preparations for her first solo exhibition, held this past summer at the NOW Gallery in South London, Simone Brewster designed “Crown,” a set of wooden combs inspired by traditional African hairstyles.

But since the multidisciplinary artist and designer already was creating jewelry and paintings for the selling show, designing its layout and furniture — not to mention caring for her son Omar, born in July 2022 — she decided in May to look for a manufacturer to produce her comb designs.

Six weeks later, unable to find anyone who could execute the small but complex designs, Ms. Brewster was about to give up. Then Max Lamb, a friend and fellow designer, offered his workshop, which had the band saw, pillar drills and sanding machines she needed to make them herself.

“It went from being this really stressful thing, because no one would make them for me, to something really fun,” said the designer, 40, who has picked up a variety of craft skills since she studied woodworking at school. “Once I know I’m going to make something, it’s not stressful for me because I know I can do it.”

The final pieces, in black palm and sapele wood, feature the same feminine curves and energy that characterize much of Ms. Brewster’s work. Her creations, sold mostly through her website, range in price from 300 pounds, or $365, for a pair of gold vermeil earrings to more than 15,000 pounds for furniture and precious jewelry. They include pieces in many sizes and materials, but all focus on how race, gender, and personal identity shape our understanding of design.