Rawstudio is a London based multi-disciplinary design studio but it was their chess set that caught my attention. I’m not normally keen on any chess set that could be described as a ‘travel set’. But the modern simplicity and choice of materials of this set raise it above that description.

This is just a leather board and a set of metal pieces, but the pieces are cut from stainless steel and hand finished, while the board is made from soft stitched leather, using the leather and suede sides of the same material to define the black and white playing squares rather than adding any unnecessary colour or pattern.

The pieces are good to handle having a satisfying weight and a subtle rather than overly polished finish. The black pieces are heated to 500 degrees to oxidise the metal surface, turning the silver into a deep bronze, with occasional flecks of deep blue. The hand finishing and firing creates minor individual variations in the pieces.

The ‘travel set’ element is neatly covered by the pieces interlocking and stacking into two tubes with the rolled up board sliding neatly between them. Then fitting the whole into a suede pouch.

All images: © Rawstudio