If you think recycling doesn’t lend itself easily to high-end design, prepare to change your mind when you see the exquisite design products of Inghua Ting. The innovative British-born designer, who oversees studios in both Los Angeles and London from her Hollywood Hills home, has always maintained a design ethos centered around the reuse and repurposing of old and existing materials.
Ting’s stunning bespoke tiles, made from the finest vintage leather belts, are perhaps the most sterling examples of this ethos. These glossy, hard-wearing modular surfaces grace the floors, walls, and doors of hotels, restaurants, and yachts. “Our clients say the leather floors age gracefully, and as time passes and foot traffic works the leather, it develops its own patina and story, which we feel adds to the character of our product and the ownership experience,” Ting says. “We source and recycle worn belts and create a product that celebrates their history and the patina that comes with being worn for decades.”
It was right after her 2000 graduation from the Royal College of Art with a degree in textile design that she recalls being filled with a sense that it was possible to shape her own career path and incorporate her passion for recycled leather.
One of her favorite and most popular products is among her earliest creations: the Ting Sling, a thoroughly modernized version of a hammock. Hers will allow you to spend the summer months relaxing in a body-conforming yet comfortable patio accessory. The clean aesthetic of polished stainless-steel hardware combined with the sleek appearance of a woven automotive seat belt seems to resonate in a wide variety of environments. “We have been making the Ting Sling for over 15 years and have seen them installed in homes of all styles, as well as hotels and ocean liners,” she says.
“We understand that our clients are often looking for something unique,” Ting says. “The combination of a sustainable surface that is handmade and bespoke has a strong appeal. We work closely with clients to understand their project and environment and develop designs specifically tailored and complementary.”
While Ting’s clientele consists predominantly of architects and interior designers who specify a product for a project, there are also private individuals who reach out when they have a space they’re renovating and want something as simple as an area rug or leather tiles. Items from her collection have been included in exhibitions at such esteemed venues as Selfridges in London, Colette in Paris, Bergdorf Goodman in New York, and Adrian Grenier’s SHFT in L.A.
With her solid-gold feel for textures that resonate, you could say Ting has the Midas touch.
