A wonderfully distinctive pair of vintage 'Encore' LP record storage racks designed by Height and Guille for Artifact Designs Limited, England, dating to the 1970s.
A fantastic example of space-age design, each rack is constructed from a series of smoked translucent acrylic dividers set between contrasting cream-coloured top and bottom sections. Circular cut-outs run through the dividers, creating a strong repeating graphic detail while visually lightening the design.
The individual compartments are perfectly proportioned for storing 12-inch vinyl records upright, keeping a collection organised while still allowing sleeves to be easily browsed and removed. The smoked acrylic creates a particularly striking layered effect when viewed from the side, with the circular openings appearing to repeat through the entire structure.
Designed as two separate units, the racks can be positioned together to create one long piece of record storage, arranged side by side or used individually in different parts of a room. Small cream spherical castors beneath allow each section to be moved easily and add another playful period detail.
The end panels are secured with visible fittings and one retains the moulded manufacturer’s inscription reading “Designed by Height and Guille, manufactured by Artifact Designs Limited, England”, confirming the design’s provenance.
There are various light scratches, marks and signs of wear to the acrylic and cream surfaces consistent with their age and use, but these do little to detract from what is an exceptionally unusual and eye-catching piece of 1970s design.
A fabulous piece of vintage record storage for anyone looking for something a little more interesting than the usual LP rack – practical, sculptural and unmistakably of its era.
£325.00
In stock
Artifact Designs Ltd operated out of Henley-on-Thames in the late 1960s and 70s, making clever household objects in modern materials - perspex, aluminium, moulded plastic. Not much company history survives, but the calibre of the people they worked with tells you they were serious.
Their best-known collaboration was with Height and Guille: Frank Height, professor of industrial design at the Royal College of Art, and Frank Guille, the furniture designer behind much of Kandya's output. Together they designed desk storage and the 'Encore' modular record system for Artifact — smoked perspex dividers, ball castors, sold by the bay. It was recognised by the Design Centre in London and featured by the Design Council in 1974, when five bays would set you back £8.91.
Fifty years on, Encore racks have become cult objects: genuinely useful, unmistakably seventies, and designed by two of the most credentialled names ever to turn their attention to storing records. Each piece we sell is checked, cleaned and ready to hold the collection.
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Delivered within 5 days (UK Mainland)
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We hope you'll love your purchase, but if for any reason you change your mind, you're welcome to return it.
Please contact us within 14 days of receiving your item to arrange a return. Items must be sent back in their original condition within 30 days of delivery. The buyer is responsible for return shipping costs.
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Height and Guille were one of those short-lived partnerships that punched well above their output. Frank Height was professor of industrial design at the Royal College of Art – serious design establishment, later the man who conceived the RCA’s pioneering Industrial Design Engineering course alongside Misha Black. Frank Guille was a furniture designer with proper commercial form, best known for his work with Kandya, whose chairs and stools sat in half the modern homes in Britain.
Through the 1970s the pair collaborated on a series of household designs, mostly for Artifact Designs of Henley-on-Thames. There was aluminium desk storage, featured in Design magazine in 1971, and their best-remembered piece: the ‘Encore’ modular record storage system of 1973. Smoked perspex dividers, ball castors, sold by the bay at £8.91 for five. It was recognised by the Design Centre in London and featured by the Design Council – official approval, at high street prices.
Height and Guille pieces don’t surface often, and they’re exactly the kind of thing we love: everyday objects designed with far more brainpower than the job strictly required.
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