Designers with their favourite pieces. Photos / NZ Herald
Designers with their favourite pieces. Photos / NZ Herald
Four of the country’s best designers talk to Kirsten Matthew about making beautiful furniture and homewares, New Zealand’s place in contemporary design, and their most favourite things.
Do not ask a doyen of furniture design to tell you what's trendy. Turns out our most clever makers are not the biggest fans of what's hot.
"My job is to look for ways to differentiate from, rather than follow, trends," says Jamie McLellan, who earned his chops designing furniture for the British design heavyweight Tom Dixon. "I try my best to avoid trends."
Ron Crummer, designer of lights and homewares, does the same. "I try to keep away from design trends. In fact, as soon as I'm aware of one, I go in another direction."
Safer then, to get this quartet of New Zealand makers - McLellan, Crummer, Simon James and Bec Dowie - to talk about how they go about creating contemporary pieces that are useful, beautiful and coveted around the world ...
Consider Simon James, 42, the godfather of New Zealand furniture design. He set up his eponymous brand in 2001 to sell his own work and soon branched into bringing international labels into the country. Ten years later, with Scott Bridgens, he co-founded Resident, a company focused on creating and selling high-end New Zealand designs by heavy-hitters like Jamie McLellan and Nat Cheshire. Resident exhibits at Milan Furniture Fair and New York and London design fairs each year and is now available in 13 countries.
Furniture designer Simon James with his favourite design piece, the Pick Up Sticks chair. Photo / Jason Oxenham
Describe your aesthetic ...
"My pieces have a strong emphasis on function and attention to detail. I try not to over-complicate things."
"I spend a third of my time designing, another third running a business and the final third managing the creative direction of Resident."
How long does it take to create a new piece?
"Anywhere from six to 24 months, depending on the scale and scope of the product. Ideas always start with pencil and paper. The next stage involves computer-generated 3D modelling so we can understand the form and proportion, then detailed drawings and prototypes. It's very much a collaborative process with input coming from both the sales and production teams. Failure in the early stages is not a bad thing and can lead to interesting studies or a direction you had never planned in the first place."
Which piece do you love the most?
"The Pick Up Sticks chair designed for Resident in 2014 [recipient of a Best Award]."
What inspires you?
"Architecture and graphic design, as well as travel. I get inspired in the larger cities like New York and from the isolation of our bach up north."
Is it a good time to be a New Zealand designer?
"On an international scale, New Zealand design has a long way to go, but the creative resources are there. I enjoy the isolation of being based in New Zealand. It's a very efficient place to develop product. We can be head down and not have too many distractions, then release product at key times of the year in Milan, New York and London."
"I believe texture will play an important part in design. With the return of the artisan, clients are far more interested in the process and where a product is made than they used to be. There's a trend towards more honest materials and craft-based workmanship, which is great for design."
Is there one thing you wish you'd designed?
"The Slow Chair by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec. It is very generous in seat size but, because of its mesh structure, it doesn't feel heavy in a space."
BEC DOWIE
Douglas and Bec
With her father, Douglas Snelling, Bec Dowie started her furniture and lighting studio in the back of a Clevedon garage in 2007. Since then, the brand, known for its pared back aesthetic, has grown into an international business, with two stores in Auckland, one in Melbourne and pieces in homes all over the world.
"We have been going at rather a mad pace for the past eight years," says Dowie, 34. "I do like to push myself pretty hard."
Designer Rebecca Dowie of Douglas and Bec with her favourite design piece, the Line Lamp. Photo / Jason Oxenham.
How did you become a designer?
"I was studying for a Bachelor in Fine Arts and had romantic notions that I was going to live by the seaside and be a painter - until I was at a design conference and heard a creative director at ALT Group [a New Zealand design studio] talk about the concept of ideas. The penny dropped: I most likely wasn't going to be a painter living by the seaside but I could be a creative.
"Dad always had numerous requests to make tables, etc and he would always ask me for my input into the aesthetic. It became a bit more frequent and we started to really enjoy what we were doing. I still tend to think like an artist, I guess. My BFA has helped, if not stood me apart, as a designer."
Describe your aesthetic ...
"Simple and feminine. I love materiality and its language of tone, line and form; and how one material can talk to the other. I put a lot of energy into considering the timeless quality of a work because I like to think that when a customer purchases a piece, that they will love it for an extended period."
"I spend time conceptualising and processing ideas for new work that, with interns and junior designers, we resolve and develop, prototype and test. We have a huge 'tool belt' of craftspeople that help us make the product; glass blowers, electricians, engineers, polishers, specialist painters.
"Then we have to market and sell. I have learnt to be commercially minded, even if it is slightly against my grain. Media, photo shoots, look books, the website, social media and managing databases, sales trips and meetings are all things that we do in-house. Our little machine is continuously chugging."
How long does it take to create a new piece?
"Sometimes works are very quick. Our dressing table [recipient of a Best Award in 2014] came together very quickly and seamlessly. But then we have been working on our latest collection for six months.
The scrooge in me is pretty reluctant to let any pieces fail, so we usually problem-solve until we get it right."
"It's hard to say, but there are pieces that have made our success or helped pave the way, like the Angle table lamp 2.0. It got us a lot of attention in 2009 and elevated us from shed-tinkerers to designers."
What inspires you?
"A wide variety of sources. The Bedroom collection drew inspiration from previous generations and how they lived; it fascinated me that the Colonials would bring furniture from the Northern Hemisphere and even through they might be knee-deep in mud, there was always a dressing table and a bedhead and decorative items. Currently, I am quite inspired by Alexander Calder mobiles and Bauhaus furniture."
Is it a good time to be a New Zealand designer?
"It's such an exciting place and time to be practising. We have innovative architects and designers doing incredible fit-outs. They are sourcing locally and using local people to make bespoke work for projects and the results are world class. We also have growing recognition around the world for our work, which I guess started with [Hawkes Bay designer] David Trubridge and Simon James. Both have paved the way globally."
Primarily, Ron Crummer considers himself a problem-solver. "I design objects to help people live their lives more comfortably and efficiently," says the Auckland-based maker known for his light fittings and homewares inspired by New Zealand flora, fauna and motifs.
"I try to identify problems and look to solve them. I incorporate sustainable practices and environmentally friendly materials into my designs," he says.
At the moment, Crummer is hard at work on a new range of flower-inspired lamps and a collection of figurines that can be placed in different positions to suggest different forms. He's also part of Dragonbox, a design group working on an art installation for Artweek Auckland this month.
Product designer Ron Crummer with his favourite design piece, a Tiki Coat Hook. Photo / Jason Oxenham.
How did you become a designer?
"In truth, out of boredom and desperation after working in an unfulfilling job. I decided to find out what I was actually passionate about. As a child, I was always making things out of nothing. Imagination was everything. So I immersed myself in furniture and homeware design. Apart from an interior-design diploma, I'm basically self-taught."
"Modern, with as little design as possible and without any unnecessary noise or bells and whistles."
What do your workdays look like?
"They involve chasing up retailers to be paid, packaging and delivering, paying invoices to manufacturers and material suppliers. I've learned that everything that has nothing to do with being a designer are the very things you need to do to become one. On a personal level, I'm constantly carving out my own voice in terms of branding and aesthetics."
How long does it take to create a new piece?
"Concepts, ideas and designs don't always pop into my mind. It can take weeks, even months to get a piece right. For every one of my designs that made it to a retail store or customer, there are a million sketched designs that didn't. After a while, you get to a point where it's like having your own kids. You worry about them even when there's nothing to worry about."
"Probably my Tiki coat hook. It's not the fact that it constantly sells well; it's the simple, functional modern design with quirky undertones and the minimal production-waste element with little energy used to manufacture appeals to me."
What inspires you?
"All my designs have a personal story to them. They are influenced in the form of nature, my Cook Island-Tahitian ethnicity and my New Zealand upbringing."
Is it a good time to be a New Zealand designer?
"In recent years, there has been an increasing amount of cheap imports into New Zealand. With copyright infringements and knock-offs made overseas, it is frustrating."
"Karim Rashid for his organic shapes and use of colour in his designs and Dieter Rams for his inspirational design principles and that he lived by them."
What furniture trends can we expect to see in 2016?
"I'm hoping it will be something that will last, is New Zealand made and can be passed down to future generations."
Is there one thing you wish you'd designed?
"A water-purifying booklet designed for people in places who only have access to poor quality water supplies. The product looks to address a problem; it's affordable, light and portable. It helps people in real need."
JAMIE McLELLAN
The mind boggles at the diversity of Jamie McLellan's design portfolio. Yes, he makes gorgeous tables, chairs and lights, but he's also turned his hand to bikes, kayaks, storage systems, coat racks and homewares since setting up his own studio in 2006. And the 37-year-old is currently at work on a collection of wall and table lights, rattan furniture, a watch, a toy sailing boat, woollen shoes, a stand-up paddle board and windsurfers.
"Our work is fuelled by a desire to design objects that are wholesome, calm, considerate and of real substance," says McLellan, who's been the recipient of several Best Awards. "They're objects we believe have a right to exist and that we want to live with and use in our own lives."
New Zealand designer Jamie McLellan with the bicycle frame he designed for the New Zealand track cycling team. Photo / Greg Bowker
How did you become a designer?
"By building Lego, drawing pictures and making things in my dad's shed. I had inspiring art and design teachers at both intermediate and secondary school who recognised my enthusiasm for these things. They guided me in the right direction towards a degree in Industrial Design at the Wellington School of Design."
Describe your aesthetic ...
"A strong silhouette: an object distilled down to the purest, calmest, most efficient form but often with a key detail expressed with confidence; visually balanced. A celebration of engineering - everything in its right place; everything with a purpose."
"On the surface it is pretty simple; I try to design beautiful, timeless objects. My process is very similar to when I was a kid. Lego has been replaced by CAD and 3D printing but I still do a lot of drawing and primitive model-making.
"I collaborate with a number of other specialists, both in the studio, with people like designer Andy Jacobs, and externally, with skilled craftspeople and manufacturers. For all the time I spend drawing and making, I spend just as much time looking and listening."
How long does it take to create a new piece?
"Projects can range from a matter of months to several years - and this doesn't always relate to the scale of the object. Sometimes it can be about waiting for the right idea to present itself."
What's your favourite piece?
"This is a tough question; it's like having to choose a favourite child! At the moment, I am really stimulated in my work with Avanti. I have been working with their internal team for maybe six years now, and some of our most recent bicycle frame designs are the most exciting."
"I try not look to other products to be inspired. Instead I like to look at engineering, sculpture, visual arts, architecture."
Is it a good time to be a New Zealand designer?
"We have some incredible talents within our shores. It feels like as a creative community we're more comfortable in our own skin than ever before and also perhaps as if we've finally reached a kind of critical mass. Perhaps we finally realise that our isolation is a blessing."
Who are your favourite designers?
"Achille Castiglione, Tom Dixon, Donald Judd, Carlo Scarpa, Stefan Diez, Enzo Mari. Industrial Facility, Teenage Engineering, Jean Prouve. And too many more."
