Chisel & Mouse - A Small World Filled With Big Ideas
At Seen we've been big fans of Chisel & Mouse's sculptures for a number of years after first meeting Rob and Gavin at the London Design Festival back in 2013. We are really pleased to now be representing the brand over the coming months launching a number of new creations.
Chisel & Mouse combine an artisan approach with modern innovation through 3D scale sculptures of iconic buildings and cityscapes, capturing life and its big ideas in miniature.
Above: Models Buildings of Regency Townhouse; Columbia Heights; Charlotte Square; Postcard Row and Lascaze House.
Buildings and cityscapes have captured the human imagination for millennia. Urban landscapes, with their heady mix of architecture, thoroughfares and parks, chart the course of history. They describe the ideals, visions and aspirations of numerous individuals, in a small world filled with big ideas.
Pulsing and ever growing, cities and their buildings are like living organisms, providing places of refuge, recreation, employment, learning and more. As curious beings, we explore, admire and enjoy the varied pleasures that cities have to offer. In architecture, for instance, we find a physical and emotional manifestation of an art form, and are typically moved to ponder and reflect its meaning. Indeed, we are fascinated by architecture, so much so that we display examples of great buildings and cities in our homes, schools and offices—as graphic prints and scale models.
Artisan and Innovator
Chisel & Mouse is the combination of an artisan’s approach (the chisel) with modern innovation and transformative technologies (the mouse). By capturing life and its big ideas in miniature, the brand celebrates the beauty of our industrialised world.
To make a scale model of a building or cityscape requires dexterity, artistry, a keen eye for detail and patience. At Chisel & Mouse, brothers Robert and Gavin Paisley have been casting and handcrafting exact physical representations of architectural landmarks and cityscapes since 2011. Every piece is a finely balanced sculpture and a remarkably faithful impression of an iconic building or world city. Robert and Gavin strive to communicate and depict works that are aesthetically pleasing, thorough and honest in their presentation.
A Punctilious Edit
The sculptures made by Chisel & Mouse are perfect when seeking something (perhaps a gift) that is individual and unexpected. What’s more, they are greatly appreciated and admired by design aficionados and novices alike.
The brand’s punctilious edit of famous buildings includes the modernist Bauhaus Dessau by Walter Gropius, the brutalist Trellick Tower by Erno Goldfinger, and the art nouveau Helsinki Central Station by Gottlieb Eliel Saarinen. A number of limited edition models and miniature minis complete the handmade (signed and dated) collection. For those with a penchant for colour, the Chisel & Mouse PopArc collection is a capsule colour-backed set of wall hanging sculptures, featuring Brutalist Britain and London Icons.
In a 1:5000 series of cityscapes that cover an area of 1.5 km x 1.5 km, Chisel & Mouse present a captivating set of physical maps—Berlin, London and New York are just several examples. Each map is the result of satellite data and 3D printing, combined with traditional moulding and plaster casting. In addition, a coloured series of maps—called ‘Blue River’—highlight a city’s waterways.
Finally, a bespoke service from Chisel & Mouse is the perfect solution for people who desire architectural models of a celebrated building, a private residence or a much loved city.