The duo behind design studio 9 Across, Amy de Wit and Ornella Stocco, met while studying at London Metropolitan University, and their shared interest in craft and materials lead them to join forces and start creating. Inspired by the literature and crosswords of Georges Perec and the Surrealist’s love of serious play, automatism and chance, the pair took a crossword from a newspaper and used it at as the generator for a series of objects. Through a process of word association, the clues and answers of the cryptic crossword provided a series of instructions: actions, qualities, descriptions, or entire narratives. One of my favourite pieces is the Clearcut lamp, shown below. They’re made from layers of glass, cut whilst still hot and pulled back to reveal a hit of colour. Head to Across9.com to learn about their quirky design ethos and see more fab products.