Considered and overlooked…
What is the value of design?
Leonhard and I have known each other for 30+ years now and we have a long history of ‘heated’ but productive conversations that revolve around the idea of ‘considered design'.
Designers (like us) spend huge amounts of time, expertise and energy thinking and exploring ideas so that the work they produce is highly considered, refined, resolved and perfect for the end users and their needs.
Another such designer was Eileen Grey. Even back in the 1920's, she was a visionary, setting up shop in Paris as an outlet for her designs. Her classic side-table ‘E1027’, which she designed to ‘go over her knees’ was originally produced from metal and glass in 1926 and is now considered a design icon.
But perhaps, these are things that only people with a design background or an interest in design would know.
(L-R) Found in our local neighbourhood, trash or treasure? and snaps of our own vintage E1027 table from when Design Guild Mark UK asked us to take a few snaps of our life during ‘lockdown here in Portugal.
Take for example the photo above. Snapped one evening in our local neighbourhood after dark. To the unlearned this was merely a couple of pieces of metal that had been discarded as rubbish on the street. Possible worth something as scrap metal but mostly overlooked in the hustle of life. But to those ‘in the know’, these are the remnants of a piece of classic early 20th century design by a visionary thinker and part of the thought process of a woman who forged her own path.
Which led to our conversation - does something hold its value if that value is not common knowledge? Or is something only valuable because a handful of people understand its importance? Does value increase or diminish because it can be overlooked by those not ‘in the know’ and then treasured by those who do?
Being popular and being of value are both extremely covetable goals these days but is value as a perception an elite idea? Design of luxury cars, planes, medical tools, space engineering are all recognised as expensive, important, highly valued. But what about that chair you are sitting on, your desk or the bed you sleep on every night. These are the great overlooked objects that can make or break you (or your back if you sit, work or lay in an awkward position for too long).
Similar to the designers of luxury cars or the iconic designers of the early 20th century, our process also involves and revolves around the consideration of every aspect of our furniture. The proportions, materials, function, production, route to market, logistics and most importantly you, the end-users experience.
Thanks for letting us share our thoughts about these things with you.
x Karla and Leonhard