Design Considered #23
Magnificent Muji, a furniture selection for spring and Byron Bay's best design neighbourhood...
#01 - Opening Thought
Two brands globally do good design for all. One is headquartered in Älmhult, Sweden, and is known for instantly recognisable blue boxy retail spaces on city outskirts; the other launched in Japan in 1980 - selling Mujirushi Ryohin “no-brand items of good value” as a reaction to rampant consumerism. While Ikea brings well-engineered, affordable products to homes through economies of scale and flat-packing innovation, Muji runs a good global business selling well-priced, well-made products stripped of excess packaging and design.
Japanese graphic designer Kenya Hara, one of the key figures shaping Muji’s brand essence as it internationalised in the early 2000s, encapsulates its philosophy in an advertising image from 2005 (pictured). A small contemporary Muji tea bowl sits calmly within a 16th-century Dojinsai room at Ginkaku-ji Temple, Kyoto. The visual speaks to the brand’s ethos - that not dressing design in decoration is both beautiful and deeply rooted in Japanese culture.
Muji is celebrating its heritage through its ‘Icons’ collection - design objects that rarely get the spotlight like a shampoo bar, storage solutions, and a gel pen - well-made, easy on the wallet, life-improvers.
#02 - Outskirts of Town
“You need to check out this industrial estate” is a phrase I rarely hear regarding travel tips, especially from one of my most well-informed friends. But there I was on my holiday, being directed away from the pristine beaches of Byron Bay to explore an old manufacturing quarter on the outskirts of town. I’m glad I did. Here, a series of smart interventions to Banksia Drive and its surrounding streets have brought cultural vibrancy to a previously little-known-about part of Australia, transforming it into a thriving creative and commercial hub and boosting the local economy.
Sure, the sun-kissed cast of impossibly laidback people populating the coffee roasters, ceramics studios, surfboard manufacturers, etc, help provide its charm. Still, the clever way the area has been developed to allow making and manufacturing to flourish and connect these crafts with the paying public gives it an authentic edge. “It's much better if there are people making things in this area,” explains Alex Douglas, Sole Director of developers Norfolk Projects, which has spearheaded progress here, commissioning top architects like Richards & Spence to create buildings, which bring the best of out of a unique government zoning, key to the area’s success.
While zoning law is an even less talked-about topic than out-of-town industrial estates, the fact that here it allows entrepreneurs to work, make, and sell in the same area is a rare luxury in town planning. “Banksia Drive has been a great business place long before we started building here—fashion brands, muesli makers, surfboard shapers have been around for years,” says Douglas, speaking to the bonds of a genuinely creative business community his firm is tapping into. “We arrived and brought a certain energy and control to the precinct, especially regarding a holistic marketing approach.”
They’ve also brought in attractive - nationally respected - brands, the brilliant Jardan (pictured), and outdoor furniture specialist Tait, which now occupy beautiful trade showrooms in the new Richards & Spence buildings from Norfolk. Walking through the broader development, you sense real momentum here - businesses blurring boundaries between production and retail. For example, customers are more inclined to buy a handsome object from Jedda Clay after seeing Jedda (pictured) making ceramic pieces in situ.
What’s happening here — typically free-wheeling and Byron Bayish - should be a lesson for developers and urban planners worldwide. Sometimes, the best solution in ‘place-making’ is getting out of the way and letting the people whose place it is simply get on with it.
#03 - Design Selection
Balancing function, craftsmanship, and elegance, this month's design selection offers inspiration for a spring home update. London-based Pophams, known for its artisanal baked goods and a growing network of cafés, is expanding its handcrafted tableware line. The (1) Wood Ash Serving Plate by TKJ Ceramics is a favourite - its earthy, ashy glaze adds subtle texture and depth to the piece. Ariake's (2) Futago Nesting Table, designed by Gabriel Tan (more on him later), is an elegant space-saving solution for busy lounge rooms. It’s made in Japan in oak and ash.
Staying in Japan, Norm Architects (3) N-TL01 Table Lamp - for Kanagawa-based lighting specialist Ambientec - offers a lesson in warm minimalism. Working with Kyoto's Kojima Shoten, a historic lantern maker, the Danish firm designed a bronzed stainless-steel and leather base that supports a washi-paper shade, tastefully softening the glow from a rechargeable light. For another sharp, architectural take on a familiar object, media brand NR’s limited-edition (4) brushed stainless-steel Ashtray was created in collaboration with Milan-based studio NM3. Known for its precise, geometric approach to raw materials, NM3 applies its stripped-back design language to this collectable piece.
Besides being a top designer, Gabriel Tan and his wife Cherie Er co-founded Origin Made in 2018 to connect leading creatives with Portuguese artisans to craft contemporary objects rooted in tradition. A standout is the (5) Constellation Incense Burner, designed by Sebastian Herkner and made by metalworker Francisco Andrade. Coming in solid brass and engraved with constellation patterns, it holds multiple incense sticks simultaneously. Finally, Swedish design standouts and brothers Per and Pontus Nadén continue their material-led approach with the (6) Open Frame System. Nadén makes furniture using wood grown and milled in a naturally managed forest one hour from their workshop.
#04 - For Your Consideration
The Grand Tourist by design editor Dan Rubinstein is podcasting done properly—well-researched interviews, smartly written introductions, charmingly hosted, audio-only, and seriously in-depth. Season 8 starts with a 90-minute sit-down with New York-based architect Liz Diller, who shares her life story, the philosophy behind her firm Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and sage advice for anyone in a creative profession.
OEO Studio (featured in Design Considered 22) is releasing a title that needs to make it onto your spring shopping list. The Danish studio's Rizzoli-published Compelling Minimalism goes far beyond being a portfolio piece, showcasing the myriad inspirations that have shaped their architectural, interior, and product design style. Essential for those who appreciate restraint done right.
Speaking of spring, the design industry event schedule becomes increasingly relentless, and while these gatherings tend to pop up in lovely cities—Paris, Milan, etc.—separating the wheat from the chaff at these sprawling jamborees is tedious and time-consuming. One fair that does all the hard work for you is Matter and Shape, which takes place in the French capital next month. It brings together a tightly edited selection of what's essential in contemporary and collectable design. Reserve your pass now.
A made-in-Switzerland shelving system from USM should be an office (and home) staple for anyone who takes design seriously. They are so sturdy they survive daily batterings with style and so sleek they fit seamlessly into any space. Brand fans should check out NKYINKYIM, a collaboration between USM and designer Armando Cabral. On display at USM's SoHo showroom in New York until May, the installation features custom USM pieces inspired by West African motifs—bookshelves, a platform bed, a side table, and a very handsome custom armchair.
Finally, UK-based masters of clay plasters & natural finishes, Clayworks, has launched a new website as handsome and warmly enveloping as the sustainably-minded spaces they’ve helped craft over the years.
#05 - Through The Lens
There’s never a bad time to be in Paris. But there is something remarkable about a springtime sojourn, observing well-dressed citizens re-emerge on bistro terraces and across the city parks, embracing the warming season. One top spot for people watching is the famous Jardin de Luxembourg, where this image was taken by British, Porto-based photographer Michael Gannon. It shows a pair of well-maintained Parisians luxuriating on the green Sénat public seats (produced near Lyon by Fermob), which are exclusively reserved for the Garden.
Gannon says lunchtime is the best time to observe the city and its people. “Paris is a city that knows how to pause,” he says. “Spaces like shaded terraces, hidden courtyards, and wide boulevards create these small pockets of calm that encourage people to step away from their routines.” These moments of pause make a city feel more human, adds Gannon, who shot this image as part of a personal series available here. Perhaps this is why Paris is a city that feels so engaging to visitors, because its citizens know enjoy their city - an extended lunchtime, reclining on a park bench or cosied up with a cigarette watching passersby from a well-made bistro chair.
“When I shoot cities and their built environments, I focus on how people interact with their surroundings,” adds Gannon of his process, noting that the bustling riverside marketplaces of Porto are another favourite spot to shoot. “Small details catch my eye: a shadow, how light plays on a surface, or how someone moves through a space. For me, it’s always about capturing the relationship between a place and the life it holds.”
Wow that USM collab is great!