Designer Maker

“You can adapt and evolve what you have, when you need to”

Recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Jon and Giedre in their brand new workshop to discuss their take on bespoke residential and commercial projects.

I climbed into their makeshift but charmingly curated office and accidentally stole Jon’s mug marked “Jon” for a cuppa then over a din of electric saws we had a good catch-up about Jon’s past, the evolution of their business and thoughts on production vs design.

Q, How did you get started producing commercial furniture? It’s not an easy step from residential work?

J, I have a few friends who run small design practices, so fortunately in my early years, we got one or two projects through them. It all started there really and evolved through word of mouth and Instagram. People could see that our style could work in commercial settings and gave us a chance to create.

Q, How do your concepts and product ideas develop, especially from a small-scale setup in your early days?

J, We did have a few key dimensions based on our machinery like when we got an in-house metal folder, you know, and the whole first desk concept was designed around that. I bought that machine for the original desk.

Not having all the machinery you need can give you constraints but that’s not always a bad thing you can adapt and evolve what you have when you need. Now our desks are fully modular, with different colors, storage, lino, and laminate, the product evolves with each project.

Q, The annoying thing about workplace interior design is that people used to spend a fortune on high-end desks and task chairs. We went from that to “we're going to focus on soft furnishings” lobbies have £4k lounge chairs leaving crumbs for the desking. I’d like to see craftsmanship come back into the most important part of any office, the desk.

Do you know what I mean Jon?

J, I guess, for us, all our desks still feel quite handmade whereas if you go to expensive classic desk companies, everything is highly polished and the price, is right up there. We make everything by hand in-house which helps retain that feeling of originality.

There’s nothing better at the end of a project than when your client comments “ It feels bespoke to us”, we get that a lot, and I think it’s because we truly do listen to their needs. It’s the same throughout our more bespoke residential work.

Q, Can you talk about some standout commercial and residential projects that you’ve been particularly happy with?

J, Yeah a full loft fit-out we finished in December 2021. Headboard, bedsides, the whole thing wrapped around into the eaves. Really enjoyed this installation, we have so many you can look through on instagram

J, Another was for Daniel an architect in Hackney, who wanted a pullout desk incorporated into his bedroom. He approached us with a plan and we’re very happy to say we made it happen. Great client to work with.

J, Squint Office was a really interesting job, they wanted a big statement desk.

G, Originally they wanted one big 6m long table but it just wasn’t possible with the materials and access to the site so we came up with the idea for 3 separate pieces that move individually and come together to form one big desk. We integrated power throughout and developed the bespoke tray section to make it more tactile.

Q, I’m always intrigued by people who have studied product design (you’ve got a masters) who then lean into making. I feel some designers can be too far removed from making and can lack a true understanding of the manufacturing process.

J, I really enjoyed being hands-on and designing around the tools and space we had, if you are too disconnected from the build process you really can stall the project, make mistakes and ultimately not deliver for your customer.

Q, How have you built your client base?

J, We do get a lot of repeat customers, and word of mouth and fortunately we are approached through Instagram and the work that Giedre puts out there. It also seems that creatives or anyone with an eye for design actively wants to work with local people, it’s a big part of who the studio is.

Q, I’m inspired by people like yourself who build something from scratch, work for other companies like SCP and Unto This Last learn while you work, and develop your own style. Has it been a struggle?

J, I was running a nightclub cloakroom to make ends meet, tip money paid my rent, and project returns just about covered my small studio space. I sort of naively jumped into it, a small loan later and you realise you’ve got no money left. That’s when you really have to start hustling and working. You have to get your name out there and engage with everyone you know.

It’s been a hard go but I guess if you do good work people come back to you. That’s always been my mentality.

Q, What are you working on for this year?

J, We’re planning a range of accessories, accessible pieces that should be normally in stock. Giedre has designed a mirror pinboard for hallways. Anyone can go a make a set of coat hooks who doesn’t? but please buy ours.

The point is we use lino, ash dowels, and ply. We want to bring them together in a simple functional design that also reduces waste.

G, The goal is to make various off-the-shelf collections while continuing with the bespoke work. We’ll never stop installing bespoke commercial and residential work but it’s our dream to have stand-alone collections, we’re prototyping now.