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STORIES OF MODERN BUSINESS
Aug/Sep 2018
Issue 24
S PE CI A L
ISSU E !
Buaisou: Japan’s
indigo superstars
A COURIER ZINE
Highlights from last years design issue
LETTER + INTRO
L
ast night I watched Very Ralph, the excellent new HBO documentary
about the life and career of a hero of mine, Ralph Lauren. Here’s a
Jewish kid from the Bronx who wasn’t born into wealth but who
clocked early in his career that while the apparel industry was about
keeping people warm and hiding their bits and bulges, it was also an
industry that was about effectively selling customers dreams of a different
life. And, at a time when fashion was reserved for the most wealthy in
society, he went about democratising it, selling everyone the fantasy of
access to the yacht-owning, horse-riding set in exchange for the price of a
polo shirt. A pioneer in so many ways (including being one of the very few
to use non-white models in his shows and advertising campaigns decades
before it became a ‘thing’), Ralph sits alongside Coco Chanel as one of the
very few who up-ended not just how we dressed but also hony ways
(including being one of the very few to use non-white models in his shows
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and advertising campaigns decades before it became a ‘thing’), Ralph sits
alongside Coco Chanel as one of the very few who up-ended not just how
we dressed but also how we viewed class, society and arguably ourselves.
INSTAGRAM
But, in unleashing these democratic forces, I’m
not sure he could have realised the monster he, along‘thing’), Ralph sits Follow us @couriermedia
for regular updates
alongside Coco Chanel as one of the very few who up-ended not just how throughout
we dressed but also how we viewed class, society and arguably ourselves. the month.
But, in unleashing these democratic forces, I’m
not sure he could have realised the monster he, along
Until next issue, PODCAST
Jeff
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Cain Fleming Daniel Giacopelli Kate McInerney
Features & Special Projects Design & Art Direction
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Matt Horrocks
Senior Editor Contributors
Duncan Nakanishi Willemijn Barker-Benfield, Will
Brand Partnerships Manager Coldwell, Fleur Emery, Grace Gould,
Rachel Warby Editor-at-Large Jenny Gyllander, Henry Tobias Jones,
Tatsuo Hino Phoebe Lovatt, Colin Nagy, Jonathan
Distribution Manager Openshaw, George Rendall
Maverick Pettit-Taylor
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Courier | 02
SNAPSHOTS
Snapshots: Wear and tear
THE ‘RIGHT TO REPAIR’ movement is gathering steam. In Europe
and many US states, legislation may soon force manufacturers of
consumer goods and electronics to give owners the ability to fix their
products – or bring them to special repair shops. But for companies
such as London-based fashion brand Raeburn, founded in 2009, a
belief in repairing has been core to the business for years. Under their
‘remade, reduced, recycled’ philosophy, Raeburn uses surplus fabrics
such as vintage parachutes to create the likes of new jackets and bags.
03 | Courier Courier | 04
SNAPSHOTS AT RESTORATION STATION in east London, skilled artisans teach woodworking and upholstery skills to people recovering from addiction. The team repair and restore vintage furniture from the 1950s, 60s and 70s – and then sell the finished products straight from the workshop. 05 | Courier Courier | 06
SNAPSHOTS LOS ANGELES-BASED upcycled apparel brand Atelier & Repairs was founded in 2015 by fashion industry veteran and denim expert Maurizio Donadi. The brand’s mission is to ‘re-imagine what already exists through intentional design’ by creating one-of-a-kind pieces using quality, reclaimed textiles. 07 | Courier Courier | 08
BRIEFINGS
I N D IG O
‘From farm to closet’
Indigo farming and dyeing has been around in Japan as far back as the 10th century, but it was at
the beginning of the 19th century when it was most popular. In the Tokushima prefecture on
Japan’s Shikoku island, over 600km away from Tokyo, there were 2,000 indigo farmers;
today, just five exist. The youngest of them is Buaisou, a collective of farmer-artisans who founded
their company in 2012 following the launch of a project by Japan’s Ministry of Education.
The country’s most important supporter of the arts considers indigo dyeing ‘intangible cultural
property’, and called on two individuals to relocate to Tokushima to learn the craft to ensure it
didn’t completely die out. Kenta Watanabe and Kakuo Kaji returned the call and began studying
indigo farming under a sixth-generation sukumo farmer named Osamu Nii. Soon the team
included Yuya Miura, a tailor, and Ken Yuki, a ‘salaryman’ and member of Japan’s corporate
working class. Watanabe has since left but more have joined, including Tadashi Kozono and
Kazuma Osuka. Together they grow indigo plants, and through fermentation they make natural
dye that is a rich violet-blue colour known as ‘Japan Blue’. Kyoko Nishimoto manages operations.
They are reviving two heritage traditions – farming and dyeing – which have traditionally been
separate crafts in Japan. They plough and fertilise the land; plant, water and harvest the crop; and
carry out a 120-day process of watering and stirring. Then they start making their line of clothes
and design the packaging. Little wonder the company’s tagline is ‘From farm to closet’.
Buaisou make totes, bandanas, aprons, menswear items – anything, really, so long as it’s ‘Japan blue’ – and largely sell via its website direct to
consumer and in selected stores around the world. Customers get the chance to have a go at the dyeing process themselves at pop-ups and
workshops around the world – including, recently, at Coal Drops Yard in King’s Cross, London.
09 | Courier Courier | 10
The collective grows indigo leaves at its two-acre farm, which is near the Yoshino River and surrounded by mountains. Buaisou spend long The leaves are harvested in the summer and separated from their stems and left to compost throughout the winter. ‘You need physical
hours out in the fields during harvest periods, the first of which takes place June and July, the second in August and September. strength and determination when on the farm,’ says Kaji. ‘But I like being able to move my body as hard as possible.’
11 | Courier Courier | 12
BRIEFINGS
Buaisou carry out all of their work in a rustic barn which doubles as a studio. Equipment for indigo farming is getting harder and harder to
buy. ‘It’s easier to make money from farming vegetables than it is from indigo,’ says Kaji. ‘Today, there’s no special equipment for indigo
farming. We have to get agricultural machines and remodel them.’
‘We do everything ourselves; everything with our hands,’ explains ‘We sell our products in the UK, across China and Japan, Australia,
Nishimoto. ‘We treat the dye like a pet. If we expanded the business but not in the US,’ explains Nishimoto. ‘We can only produce so
Wheat bran, ash lye and calcium hydroxide is mixed with the compost to make the dye. ‘It’s a historical recipe,’ says Kaji. Then it’s left to too much, too fast, we won’t be able to continue to touch every much. And we are happy with the size of the business. We are calm
ferment with water in a clay vat for several months. ‘I understand the science behind how the green leaves make the deep indigo colour,’ says stage of the farming and making process with and peaceful. And stability is very important to us. We want to be
Kaji. ‘But it’s still mysterious how the dye always comes out in different shades.’ our hands. And none of us want that.’ around for a long time.’
13 | Courier Courier | 14
BRIEFINGS
ART/DESIGN
‘My work is loud. It says
look at me, I’m different!’
From his London studio, artist and designer Yinka Ilori talks about colour, community,
cultural heritage – and what it takes to make it as a young designer today.
INSIDE THE HARROW studio of artist and designer Yinka MAKE OR BREAK
Ilori, paintings and furniture are daubed in bright pink, acid Being an emerging black designer in a white dominated industry
green, warm orange and sunny yellow. Colour bounces around is still only one of the obstacles Ilori has had to overcome in his
the space with the playful, electric energy synonymous with career. Like many young people in the creative industries, he’s had
his work. to figure out how to simply make a living, before even beginning
Soon enough the conversation arrives at Ilori’s most to take on the challenge of scaling a successful practice.
prominent work to date, a collaboration with Pricegore But he gave up almost before he had even started. His first
architects to design the Dulwich Pavilion in south east London, collection, a set of three old chairs he upcycled before
as part of this year’s London Festival of Architecture. photographing them on a borrowed camera on the streets of
The 10m high cube, ‘The Colour Palace’, fuses European and Archway, was created while struggling to find work after
West African influences; the geometric patterns that cloak the completing a degree in Furniture and Product Design at London
structure a homage to a Lagos textile market, as well as the Metropolitan University in 2009. There, Ilori found little to relate
shapes and symmetry found in the architecture of the John to from the curriculum, which focused on Western and European
Soane designed Dulwich Picture Gallery. Ecstatic reviews have design. He felt pressure to conform and admits that at that age he
come in from here, there and everywhere. lacked the confidence to push his assignments beyond what was
Such a high-profile commission is an impressive achievement expected by his tutors.
for a designer who is just 32-years-old and who was, just a few After graduating, and after a stint as an intern at Lee Broom’s
years ago, still best known for breathing new life into chairs he’d studio, he received a £3,000 loan from the Prince’s Trust. But he
find on the street with his technicolour palettes and Dutch wax was still working at Marks and Spencer in Moorgate, steadily
fabrics. But it’s here that Ilori stops the flow of the conversation, losing money on renting a studio. ‘It was tough,’ he says. ‘I
his tone becoming sincere. ‘There’s something I want to tell you,’ couldn’t see anyone who was young, black and a designer – the
he says. ‘I haven’t told anyone, but I want to put it out there only guy I looked up to was David Adjaye. And there was no one
because I think it’s important.’ up and coming. But I just thought I’d give it one more try. I
Ilori reaches for his phone. ‘When our design for the Dulwich thought fuck everyone, fuck everything. I’m gonna make my first
Pavilion was announced as a winner, someone sent an email to collection. I’m gonna do me. I’m gonna educate you about my
the architects. It was from a politician – who I won’t name – and culture, because there’s no one else doing that through design.’
I’ve been sitting on this email for a year.’ It was a jolt of pride and ambition that ultimately set Ilori on
He begins to read: ‘As Dulwich residents my family derives the path to where he is today. His upcycled chairs, infused with
enormous pleasure from the Picture Gallery and from Sir John the Nigerian folklore and parables he grew up hearing as a child
Soane’s museum in Lincoln’s Inn Fields which we have visited caught the imagination of the art world. One chair from his first
on several occasions. Soane was a man of genius and inspiration. collection, named ‘Let there be light’, is now part of the
Manifestly, your winning design for the garden of Dulwich collection of the Vitra Design Museum and has been shown in
Picture Gallery doesn’t share his attributes. Surely it would be the Guggenheim and Bilbao. Another from the set hangs on the
better assembled in a Lagos shanty town, where it might provide wall of his studio, along with other creations, each ingrained
some shelter for the starved millions who live there.’ with a story of its own.
Ilori looks back up again, visibly affected at having to recite
the words: ‘He sent a link as well, showing people starving and INVESTMENT – OR GO IT ALONE?
stuff. This is a temporary structure. And it makes someone feel so For Ilori, his biggest struggle as a young designer was how to
uncomfortable they have to sit down and send an email like that. afford a studio, make work and pay rent while working part time
I can count on my fingers the designers we have from ethnic in retail. ‘If a small space costs £1,000 a month how are you
backgrounds. And this is the kind of stuff we have to deal with…’ supposed to get the money back?’ he says. Finding funding was
15 | Courier Courier | 16
BRIEFINGS
alone I plan to keep it that way. I’d say to students now – Cannes Lions Festival and he has also collaborated with Adidas.
don’t feel like you have to work for someone else’s practice. ‘I’m quite selective about the work I do,’ he says. ‘I love
If you work for a studio you can pick up their habits and their working with brands, but only if they allow me to be creative
way of thinking. If you adopt your own style and work in a way and true to who I am. And as long as the brand isn’t trying to
you feel comfortable, you learn to make mistakes on your own overpower my story.’
and learn from them.’ It’s this attitude that informs his advice for other young
Going it alone has its unique set of challenges – requiring designers out there: ‘Brands are really tapping into designers,
having to learn more about how to run your business, for but you’ve got to keep your integrity,’ he says. ‘It’s risky and it can
example – but it’s getting easier. ‘It’s not a walk in the park, damage your career – people may not want to work with you if
but it’s so rewarding to put in that hard work and see people you get too commercial.’
appreciate your work, sharing it around the world. And I feel But it’s public work that captures Ilori’s imagination the
that anyone graduating now is in a good position – you’re most, and after almost a decade in the business, his
literally marketing yourself for free on social media. Someone determination to make a permanent mark on the city he grew
could send you a DM saying, “I’m working on a commission. up in is leading to fruition. It’s fitting that on the same day the
Want to meet?” Before, people weren’t so accessible. Even the Colour Palace opened to the public, Somerset House launched a
big designers – Tom Dixon, Ron Arad and so on – are on social major exhibition celebrating 50 years of black art in Britain
media now. You can send them, or someone on their team, called ‘Get Up Stand Up Now’. And it was Ilori who was invited
a message and the chances of a response are high.’ to design the gallery space itself, with free reign to re-ignite the
austere rooms and corridors of the neoclassical institution with
THE ARTIST AS COLLABORATOR his signature technicolour touch, as well as create a grand,
Ilori has a strong vision of how he wants his business to grow regal entrance to the exhibition, which pops out of the side of
over the next five years, developing his studio as a brand, setting the courtyard like a psychedelic portal.
up a shop and showroom and producing lines of furniture and Since the Colour Palace was launched he’s been approached
homeware that are more affordable – from chairs to tea towels. by other architects about public spaces and this year saw the
‘I want to extend the brand so more people can have something unveiling of Ilori’s first public realm project, an installation that
by Yinka Ilori in their house,’ he says. transforms the ‘forbidding environment’ beneath a south
As with many designers, Ilori’s practice is a balance between London railway bridge into a kaleidoscope of colours designed
creative commissions and branded ones. The majority of his to echo the Thames sunset.
income comes from big public projects, but branded Named ‘Happy Street’, the work is another symbol of Ilori’s
commissions make up about 20% of Ilori’s workload. In addition desire not only to inspire younger generations but to encourage
to his work for hotel brand CitizenM, he has since produced inclusivity and playfulness in his designs through the medium of
another playground, commissioned by Pinterest for this year’s colour. It’s an approach channelled through another work of his,
crucial. He says the loan he received from the Prince’s Trust,
which also provided him with ‘the kindest, most supportive’
mentorship, was ‘when my career started’. And (after his fair
share of failed proposals) it was another funding application
made in 2014 that led him to produce his first international
show, when the Arts Council – through its Artist’s International
Development Fund – provided another £3,000 grant to produce
work for the Lagos contemporary art gallery A White Space.
‘I wrote a really in-depth proposal,’ he says, adding that
besides a four day course with the Prince’s Trust he had to ‘do a
lot of reading’ to teach himself how to run a creative business
successfully – another element he feels should be amplified in art
education, where he was just taught about basic marketing. ‘It
was the first time I dealt with budgets, audience, evaluation
– those core elements that are now instinctive to me.’
Having effectively taught himself how to run a business, Ilori
still runs his studio on his own. ‘I didn’t partner with anyone,’ he
says. ‘I thought about getting investment but I’ve done it on my
own for nearly 10 years now, it’s just been me.’
‘At university they did encourage us to collaborate but there
was no discussion of how to start a studio or practice – you did
your three or four years, then you were in the big wide world.
When I finished, I did have plans to set up a studio with a friend,
but it didn’t work out because we had different ideas. He was
more of a maker. While I enjoy making, I also enjoy the process
of designing, from the brief stage to exploring different materials
to model-making.’
Would he ever think about partnering with someone now?
’If you have the same interests, design ideas and approach then
it’s easy. But you still have to compromise. I love collaborating
and working with other designers, but now I’ve been going it
17 | Courier Courier | 18BRIEFINGS
when Ilori created his ‘Estate Playground’ installation for the A brief guide for INDUSTRIAL DESIGN
Blade
emerging designers
CitizenM hotel in Shoreditch as part of the London Design
Festival 2017.
The playground created for CitizenM is an example of how,
despite it being a branded commission, his story still shines Starting out on your own can be daunting, from
through. Ilori drew on his memories growing up on the finding funding to sourcing materials and studio
runner
Marquess Estate in Islington to create a slide, swings and see-saw space to getting your name out there. Here are
daubed in his trademark colours. some ideas to get you going.
‘I wanted to bring back the idea of play in adults,’ he says. ‘And
community, love, unity. As a kid growing up in Islington no one 1. Start a collective
cared what race or religion you were. You just played. I had Sometimes disparate talents combine to create
people from every country living in my estate and it had this something greater than the sum of their parts. Take
playground that was very brutalist, unloved, but we made it the Turner Prize-winning, London-based, collective When an old-world company bought
work. It was our playground. We loved it.’ Assemble. Soon after leaving uni, a group of shaving startup Harry’s there was an
graduates from a range of disciplines – including
CREATING AN IDENTITY architecture, construction and set design – realised important condition – design would
As well as instilling in him a drive to succeed, Ilori owes his eye that following conventional solo routes into their become central to all of their shared
for colour to his Nigerian upbringing. From a young age he was fields wasn’t for them. So they created an
inspired by his parents, who ‘just wore colour so naturally’, and architectural practice and, nine years on, they’ve built future success.
his deep felt connection to Yoruba culture was cemented when art galleries, affordable workspaces and adventure
he first visited Lagos aged 10, then for a second time after playgrounds. @assembleofficial TEN YEARS AGO, the male grooming market was
university. ripe for disruption. Having followed a Victorian
‘The work I create is very loud,’ he says. ‘It’s saying look at me, formula for much of the 20th century, presenting
I’m colourful, and I don’t look like you, I look different. That’s
what Nigerian culture is about. It’s saying: it’s Sunday, I’m gonna
2. Piggyback on a design giant shaving as a daily ritual to be faced with manly
forbearance, the rise of the ‘metrosexual’ in the 1990s
Hacking a prominent company’s products in the
wear the brightest colour clothes, my 24-carat gold necklace quest of design enhancement is a well-trodden path, saw a wholesale import of feminine care rituals
from Dubai, and rock it in the middle of Dalston.’ and Ikea has spawned more piggybackers than most. (barely updated with blue branding). Gillette,
Yet while Ilori’s work is fun, it is layered with heritage and After making their own flat more distinctive by Wilkinson Sword and Schick so thoroughly
meaning that stands out prominently in a sphere in which the getting creative with the front of an Ikea kitchen dominated the market they became used to money
work of black artists is only recently being offered a platform by cabinets, Swedish couple Monica and Mick Born growing – if not quite on trees – then at least on chins.
design institutions. realised they might be on to something. They left But the comfy oligopolies haven’t performed as
His practice also comes with a social responsibility he feels their creative advertising jobs and set up Superfront, well in the digital age. Male grooming has been cut
should be fundamental to any designer. Just as his chairs show a a design company that specifically manufactures down to size by innovative direct-to-consumer
passion for bringing new life to unloved objects, they symbolise furniture parts that fit Ikea’s most common cabinets. brands such as Harry’s. While razors cost pennies to
his firm belief in reducing waste. When he works with brands he @superfrontdotcom manufacture, they traditionally retail for such an
stipulates that once they no longer have a use for the work, it inflated price that most shops tag them for security.
must be recycled or donated to a school or public space. This was
the case with the Estate Playground, ‘though I kept the slide’, he
3. Sell direct to consumer Harry’s offered a simple subscription model that
closed this gap, meaning the customer could reduce
San Francisco’s Heath Ceramics was a heritage
says, flicking his head behind him where a purple and orange brand on its knees in 2003. Enter couple Catherine his spend to a couple of dollars a month. This was
plank leans against the rear wall of the studio. ‘You know, for Bailey and Robin Petravic, who shifted the company achieved by rethinking the entire supply chain that
when I have kids one day…’ from wholesale to direct-to-consumer, creating an saw Harry’s buying a family-run, century-old razor
‘Design can sometimes be quite elitist and it doesn’t need to experiential showroom in downtown SF where manufacturer in rural Germany. Soon, Harry’s
be,’ he says. ‘All the people who write about me now… years ago people could come and see what their range was all attracted the attention of the big boys. Earlier this
they didn’t understand what I was on about. What’s Dutch wax? about. Add in a burgeoning Insta profile and the year, Edgewell Personal Care – which owns brands
Why are you so colourful? What’s parables? They didn’t company’s earthenware ceramics were suddenly such as Wilkinson Sword, Schick, Banana Boat and
understand it. My advice would be: don’t dilute your story. Make being seen by the right eyes, and the company Hawaiian Tropic – bought Harry’s for $1.37bn.
it as rich as possible. People won’t always understand what started thriving again. @heathceramics So far, so familiar: a disruptive brand born online
you’re trying to say. But people will get it later on. You might just sells to an old-world holding group for an eye
be ahead of your time.’
4. Keep it simple watering sum. (Even Harry’s main competitors,
Dollar Shave Club, sold to Unilever back in 2016 for
Sticking to one design that’s easily reproducible not
around $1bn.) But there’s a key difference that makes
only does it simplifies your process but keeps
material costs low, too. Sustainable bag company this buyout unlike most others. Mainly, it’s not being
Baggu, based in San Francisco, had just one design presented as a ‘buyout’ at all, but as a merger between
when they began operations. Only once they that had brands that have equal amounts to gain from the
the necessary traction did they add more lines. process – with design considered central to all of their
@baggu shared future success.
The founders of Harry’s, Andy Katz-Mayfield and
Jeff Raider (of Warby Parker fame), will become
5. Find a mentor co-presidents of Edgewell’s American operations as
Washington-based designer Greg Klassen, maker of part of the deal, overseeing brand strategy in the
distinctive handmade wooden tables shaped like
region and shaking up the entire group portfolio in
rivers and lakes, spent years training with artisanal
the process. Rather than being treated as a cherry on
furniture masters on California’s redwood coast and
the cake, design was a deciding factor, putting Harry’s
Sweden’s remote island villages before, imbued with
vice president of design Scott Newlin and his team at
the necessary knowledge, starting his business. He
the centre of the growth strategy not just for Harry’s Top Scott Newlin
credits biding his time as a crucial factor in his
but for the likes of Wilkinson Sword as well as Schick. Above Harry’s Haus, Germany
success. @gregklassenfurniture
19 | Courier Courier | 20BRIEFINGS
‘Design is a strength of Harry’s, and it’s
among the reasons why we’re excited
condenses them into four overarching
themes: tracking the impact of design as a
break the brief and push barriers a bit’.
Using his experience at firms such as
feedback to iterate and evolve
our thinking. You wouldn’t get ‘Personally, Harry’s has
always thought of
Unilever has also gone on a spending
spree of challenger brands of late, buying
about combining our companies,’
says Rod Liddle, CEO of Edgewell. ‘As we
metric; putting the user first by talking to
them directly; embedding designers in
IDEO (labelled ‘the geekiest design studio
ever’ in one article) and the industrial
that level of directness if you
were selling through an I feel like I’m design slightly
differently to most
the likes of Pukka teas and Ecover
cleaning products, but both brands have
plan out the future of our combined
companies, it’s imperative that design
cross-functional teams; and encouraging
early stage prototyping. Businesses that
designer Karim Rachid, Newlin’s
multidisciplinary approach challenges
intermediary.’
It’s always been hard to put
living through companies.
The company
experienced a backlash against a
perceived clash in company ethos.
continues to play an important role –
not just for the Harry’s brand, but across
execute these actions best enjoyed 32%
more revenue and 56% more total returns
industry conventions in the very structure
of the studio, as well as through product
a price on good design.
Whereas many business
a great era for didn’t just set out
to overhaul the
Newlin is the first to acknowledge the
risk of losing your edge by becoming part
our entire portfolio.’
The deal isn’t set to conclude until
to shareholders than those that did not.
Newlin is just 36 but his remit already
design and manufacture. He has designed
everything from furniture and TVs to soap
objectives can be tracked with
concrete KPIs and quarterly
design’ hardware hidden
in our bathroom
of a hulking corporate ecosystem. ‘It does
sometimes feel like it’s the guys who get
March 2020 and plenty could change extends far beyond product and branding. dispensers and dustbins, while at Harry’s targets, design is a little more Scott Newlin cabinets, Newline bought who are the ones that end up
before then, but there’s clearly an appetite He leads a team combining industrial, he’s responsible for anything physical that elusive. Its impact on a brand says, but to disappearing.’
from both sides to build a partnership of graphic, print and interior design that the brand puts out – the razor is beyond doubt, but its contribution to redesign ‘the entire human moment’ of With the merger still underway,
equals. Design principles, it seems, have works across all aspects of the business. components and the packaging, for the bottom line can be hard to quantify. standing at the sink: ‘Getting ready for Newlin is coy about committing to a
overturned the traditional buyout His team is, he says, a ‘studio’ within the example, plus all of the offices, pop-ups ‘Personally, I feel like I’m living through work in the morning or for an event in the future vision for the likes of Wilkinson
process, putting David and Goliath on company, creating a client-agency and in-store displays. a great era for design,’ says Newlin, who evening is such a key part of the day. Sword were his team to be let loose on the
level pegging. relationship rather than an in-house The vertical setup at Harry’s gives sees the likes of Jony Ives as having Yet for men it was being treated as a chore. Edgewell portfolio. After all,
Increasingly it makes good business department beholden to every Newlin’s team strong control over the pioneered the connection between good We wanted to elevate that moment to a it’s notoriously tricky to change company
sense, too. A new study from McKinsey corporate whim. supply chain. ‘Good communication is the design and good business. ‘This new form of self-care… It’s not just about culture, and transformational design of
analyses 2m data points and 100,000 ‘In-house design can become a little key here,’ he explains. ‘It’s the only way to generation of disruptive companies that making a product look pretty. Design sits the type championed by Harry’s has to be
‘design actions’ stale. On the flip-side, ensure that our original vision actually gets we’re part of are all totally different, but the at the core of our entire operation. My implemented on all levels of a business.
across 300 public
companies. These
‘Complex supplier external agency projects can
lack a depth of engagement,’
translated into reality. It’s a bit like
chucking an interesting idea over the
thing that ties us together is that we really
put a premium on good design. We have
team touches every part of the process.’
Still, disruptive design-led brands
Whether this new world approach can
be successfully transferred to old world
design actions can
mean anything
relationships he says. ‘We wanted to
smash that divide and create
wall and it coming back that little bit less
interesting.’
different business plans, we have different
products, we have different channels with
haven’t always kept their lustre during the
buyout process. Innocent Smoothies
companies remains to be seen, but the fact
that Newlin already leads a studio geared
from putting a
design leader on the
often means something that combines
the best of both:
Owning a manufacturer introduces
extreme control from the outset, and this
which we reach customers – but the core
idea of making beautiful products with
made their name in the early 2000s with
smart branding and a playful tone, but
towards clients rather than a single
monolithic mothership is an important
executive board to design getting the ownership of in-house tracks all the way through to point of sale, great branding and slick communication at when Coca-Cola took a 90% stake in 2013 step in the right direction. Disruptive
linking CEO with the fresh thinking of an where the direct-to-consumer relationship every level unites us. Good design is now the brand lost its challenger position: design could, finally, be about to clean-up
bonuses to design watered down’ agency. We always aim to creates an outsourced R&D department of core to the way modern businesses although committed to the same organic the grooming market. Companies in
objectives, but deliver on business goals, sorts. ‘I’m constantly in touch with our function and act, it’s no longer on the and ethical credentials, its innovative and other sectors would be well advised
McKinsey Scott Newlin but we are also there to customer experience team and we use that surface of things.’ fresh approach seemed to fizzle out. to pay attention.
21 | Courier Courier | 22BRIEFINGS
CERAMICS
Disruption – one
industrial factory in downtown Asheville, North Carolina.
There are still mountain views out of most windows but, as
Alex says, ‘Some pretty drastic changes have coincided with the
geographical move. Out there we were 10-12 people and now it’s
up to 53.’
mug at a time
East Fork claims that by 2020 the new factory will allow them
to increase their production capacity by 800%. In the next two
years as a whole, the firm plans to grow its revenue by 300% in
the same period. This rapid growth isn’t just a consequence of
having more space, but rather a result of their investment in the
manufacturing process. Just as John jokes, East Fork really have
been experimenting with industrial processes. Despite raising
$2.6m in funding from angel investors, East Fork couldn’t afford
How East Fork borrows tricks from to buy its way into
mass manufacturing.
direct-to-consumer startups to bring its ‘We aren’t automated,
traditional pottery to a mass audience. everything you see involves
people and laborious
processes,’ he says. ‘Out of
WHAT MAKES A ‘good’ pot? Should it be durable or delicate? necessity as much as anything
Ornately patterned or simply glazed? Does it need to be else we are using refurbished
sustainable? These sound like questions that might concern a industrial machines that were
small, independent potter – the sort of person who might dream decommissioned back in the
of one day turning their small business into a vast, global 1950s. That’s what makes a lot
manufacturer of tableware – and it was. of what we are doing so fun.
In 1759, Josiah Wedgwood, the ‘father of English potters’, We’re not going to go out and
opened his eponymous ceramics factory in Burslem, buy a massive brand-new
Staffordshire, England. He chose the north-west of the country production line from Germany.’
because of its abundant clay deposits and access to a sprawling Their use of reclaimed
canal network. Seven small connected towns quickly grew into a machinery and a labour-
global epicentre for ceramics and became known as The It is a philosophy that appears to have served them well. intensive human production
Potteries. During its heyday in the 19th century, The Potteries East Fork has come a long way since 2015. As Connie explains: line may, to some, look like nostalgia for a by-gone age of
were the home to more than 2,000 kilns firing millions of ‘People still think of us a workshop with a few wheels in a barn Western manufacturing. But what East Fork actually doing is
products each year. in Maddison County. That’s what we were, but we’ve grown a attempting to blend the advances in repeatability and
But arguably his greatest contribution came on the factory lot since.’ manufacturing process with the age-old potter’s concern about
floor, where he took throwing ceramics off the ancient spinning As Vigeland explains, ‘Currently we’re making 10,000 units how to make a ‘good pot’. They are deliberately stripping back
wheel and moved it onto the manufacturing lines of the a month, which when Alex set up shop back in 2009, was more the process, bringing their rural, hands-on approach up to scale.
Industrial Revolution. Wedgwood’s tableware started the plate like 1,000 a year.’ A good example of the scale they have reached ‘I was thrown into a bit of tizzy the other week,’ says Alex. ‘A
buying masses on a journey towards standardised mass using their direct-to- large consumer VC company scaling. It
production and ever greater affordability. consumer business model sparked a lot of conversations between
Today the global ceramics industry is estimated to be worth can be seen in the sales of us about what that type of growth would
over $287bn. The epicentres are now located in China but also in their best-selling $36 coffee do for us – and to us.’
places like Portugal, where the government has invested heavily mugs. In April, East Fork told He continues, ‘That’s just not the way
in the industry. Most consumer ceramics are mass manufactured their customers that they’d that we are going to grow; taking that
and then sold on to retailers like Ikea, who brand them as their the place and local tradition that inspired their pottery. be selling 1,704 limited kind of money. When I see coupon codes
own. And the master craftsman’s ability to shape and mould the In pockets of this quintessentially rural American state, the edition mugs in their physical arriving in the mail from what were once
industry through their unique relationship with the objects they potter’s wheels never stopped turning. As the North Carolina retail store in Asheville. A digitally native brands, I feel like they’ve
make started to die out. Pottery Centre proudly declares: ‘If North America has a “pottery queue formed and by 4pm lost something with the scale – that
But in rural North Carolina, three young ceramists are finding state” it must be North Carolina.’ For this community, still tied to they’d sold out. But more they’ve become ubiquitous somehow.’
a new way to bring back some soul into the world of pottery, the process of making pottery by hand, the search for a ‘good importantly, traffic on Connie adds: ‘We think East Fork is a
and at scale. Alex Matisse and John Vigeland both studied pot’ became a case-by-case quandary. their online store spiked really special thing and a lot of that is
as pottery apprentices, learning how to Alex explains: ‘Because we have this by 500%. because we started so small, working
‘Our designs don’t
throw a range of ceramics from master background as potters we’ve been really Alex, who takes on the with our hands and no money. If we can
craftspeople. After their apprenticeships allowed to explore how we think about role of the traditional CEO continue to grow we want to preserve
originate on a
were over they decided they wanted details, like the curve or the internal but also oversees these that feeling about our company.’
to work together and set up shop in volume of a shape. Our designs don’t complex production What makes them special is, of
the small hamlet of East Fork, estimated
population: less than 1,600. Together computer screen, originate on a computer screen, they
start in a serious practise at the potter’s
demands, notes that John,
the CFO, ‘likes to joke that
course, their pottery. The hand-thrown
feel and rural simplicity make their
with Connie, Alex’s partner, the trio
worked in harmony throwing simple
they start in a wheel. We started with an open,
exploring and earnest love of the actual
we’ve compressed the
Industrial Revolution into
collection attractive while maintaining
an unfussy usability. Even the firing
everyday objects for the community. serious practice at craft. And we’ve continued in that vein five years’. In October East processes are raw and focused on getting
the potter’s wheel.’
Their direct-to-consumer pottery ever since, in the belief that quality is Fork moved away from its a better product. As Alex explains, “We
studio, East Fork, was named after enough to attract an audience.’ first home and into a new fire in reduction which is something that
23 | Courier Courier | 24BRIEFINGS
At East Fork’s
factory in North
Carolina, 10,000
units are produced
a month – up from
1,000 a year when
they launched
in 2009.
only potters do. Big companies don’t. But it gives you a real
quality to the ceramics that I think is inimitable. Big tableware
manufacturers like Steelite in Stoke-on-Trent, England, try, and
they’d tell you that their Artisan’s line is similar – but if you care
about quality I think you can tell it’s not done by the same
original process.’ To use a machine that can mass-produce millions of plates in the
The trio have so far done a fine job of protecting the original same way isn’t enough – it isn’t authentic to our experience as
ambitions of their pottery by ensuring that it is made in an part of a much bigger tradition of pottery.’
authentic way. It is something that most ceramics companies are One example of the way East Fork has avoided the
forced to abandon in their ambitions to scale. temptation to grow at the expense of authenticity came years
Of course, it isn’t just the product that East Fork risked ago when Alex, who is the great-grandson of the modernist
jeopardising with its rapid growth model. Some of their earliest artist Henri Matisse, was urged by investors to stamp his family
employees struggled with the company’s move from its ancestral name on the bottom of their ceramics. ‘It just didn’t feel right.
home into a new factory. ‘We had to grow,’ explains Connie. It isn’t just about me, it is the three of us and it was right from
‘We’d been doing this “thing” for a long time with a team of the beginning when we were still in a barn in East Fork,’
young people. Some of the people who have been here for a long Alex says. ‘Having three
time have strong feelings about the way we are growing and we founders is fantastic. I feel like
want to be able to make executive decisions, but at the same there is usually a founder or
time we have to keep that community.’ co-founders. But I couldn’t see
There are simple but effective ways in which East Fork try to us doing it without any other
stay true to their roots, like taking the entire workforce to local one of us.’
ball games or the bi-weekly meal that the founders help to cook In his 2017 book, Craeft:
for their entire staff. ‘We even rented pontoon boats a few years How Traditional Crafts are
for a big party but now there are too many people and everyone About More Than Just Making,
gets drunk so it’s too dangerous to do,’ says Alex. ‘But we want to Alexander Langlands explains
keep it a friendly environment. As a result, half of the staff would how for some, craft means
get East Fork tattooed on their forehead if you asked them to.’ skill, while for others it’s about
Recently, the East Fork trio have been questioning exactly the practice of making. If the
how to maintain this authenticity while growing as a company. ancient potter at the spinning
These conversations have led them and their team into a curious wheel is the former of these,
place, not in the design studio, but rather in the quality control and Wedgwood is the latter,
department (a new thing for the company as a whole). ‘It’s very then East Fork wants to be
timely for us,’ explains Connie. ‘We have been talking a lot about squarely in the middle; at their
how we want to define quality control. It is so tough because we current fork in the road, on
need to inject the feeling-tone that a master potter feels when their journey to make more
they find that one “good pot” in a batch of thousands. It’s tough. than just one ‘good pot’.
25 | Courier Courier | 26BRIEFINGS
INTERIORS
Changing
spaces
From statement restaurants
to cannabis companies,
Amy Morris reveals her
design tips for success.
WHEN IT COMES to designing restaurants, cafes,
co-working spaces – and weed dispensaries – Amy
Morris is one of the most respected names in the
industry. As a founding member of the design agency
MP Shift, her work with establishments such as The
Annex coffee shop and bar in Brooklyn and Nolita’s
De Maria (also known as the most Instagrammed café
in New York) has made her one of the first people
1. Instagram isn’t
chefs think of when they want to make sure their
restaurants are as visually sumptuous as their food.
everything
Around 60% of new restaurants fail within the
first year, and the difference between success and
failure can be more about design choices than
restauranteurs would like to admit. ‘The most ‘Everyone wants an Instagrammable moment. But
important thing about hiring a designer is that you’ve whenever somebody asks me to design that I always space will do so online rather than in person. As such, Top left De Maria
got to trust them and let them do their job,’ Morris correct them by saying: “You mean you want people restaurants have become much more than places Above Flor
explains. ‘You wouldn’t hire an accountant and then to take photographs?” After all, that’s what they where people simply consume meals; they must be Left Amy Morris
tell them how to do their job. really mean. aspirational spaces, too. Bottom left Annex
While it’s brilliant that tools like Instagram make ‘Don’t get me wrong,’ she continues. ‘I use Morris recognises this, but says: ‘Still, I actually coffee shop and bar
everyone more design-aware, it doesn’t mean that Instagram for design inspiration all the time, and it’s think it’s my job, and the chef’s job, to do the
design should be totally democratised. When I brief a brilliant way of marketing a new restaurant and bar opposite and create an experience which forces
clients, I’m very clear that it’s their job to tell me what because it gets people excited about visiting. But if people to be more present in the moment.
they want, and my job to help them realise their that’s all a business has, then the “Instagram effect” ‘It’s very important for restauranteurs to make
objectives.’ will wear off pretty quickly. spaces that are inspired by people, for people. I’m most
A great example of this comes in the form of ‘At MP Shift, Anna [Polansky] and I would never inspired by the serendipitous meetings that happen in
Amy’s most recent design project – the acclaimed design spaces purely for Instagram. I always offer the so-called third spaces – the places between our home
new opening on London’s culinary scene, Flor, from example of De Maria which won us the James Beard and our work. That’s why when I design interiors for
chef James Lowe and the team behind the Michelin award for best restaurant design in 2018. We didn’t any kind of space, I obsess over the floorplans. My
starred restaurant Lyle’s. Morris has helped to bring design an “Instagrammable” moment in the favourite addition to any seating plan is ensuring it’s
Lowe’s vision for a wine bar and restaurant into a restaurant. But what we did have, and what actually back to back, forcing people to accidentally touch each
new location in Borough Market. The austere ended up making it one of the most Instagrammed other and hopefully start conversations.’
aesthetic on show in Lyle’s has been softened while cafes in New York, was a beautiful tile mural on the
All pull stats provided by We Are 3Sixty
maintaining the hardcore kind of functionality that back wall, which was an interpretation of a piece by
2. Don’t be afraid
Lowe appreciates. Describing the brief, Morris the artist David Novros.
explains that it was important to make the space ‘The fact that we designed De Maria to be a
to go it alone
‘attentive to their guests’ needs while still being visually enjoyable space is what made it picture
playful’ and ‘no frills, yet unrelenting about the worthy – it wasn’t because of any kind of gimmick.
restaurant’s commitment to quality’. I’d never design a gimmick and it is, unfortunately,
Yet what marks out Morris from other designers is what so many people mean when they ask a designer In March 2018, the New York Times Magazine ran a
her sometimes counterintuitive decision-making for an Instagrammable moment.’ profile of Morris and Polonsky, the co-founders of
process. Here she explains three factors that have Restauranteurs are becoming increasingly award-winning design and branding agency, MP
contributed to her design success. comfortable with the new reality that the vast Shift. The headline described them as: ‘The women
majority of people who experience their food and responsible for the look of your next all-day café’.
27 | Courier Courier | 28BRIEFINGS
It was a career highlight for both the designers, Right Three Owls DISRUPTION
Furniture
ranking alongside receiving the James Beard award Market
for best restaurant design that same month. Below Golda
But one year on and MP Shift’s website became a
landing page, announcing that the founding duo had
decided to part ways. The design world was more
forward
than a little surprised, yet for Morris, their joint
decision was ‘inevitable’.
‘Anna and I started MP Shift because both of us
knew we wanted to start our own design studios,’ she
says. ‘So in that sense we put an expiry date on the
project the same day that we started it.
‘Of course, it’s a little bit tough. We worked
How three next generation furniture
together so closely that I often joked she was my companies are rethinking an
second husband. Breaking up the practice was a little otherwise very traditional market.
like a divorce. We still have to get over that, but we are
both throwing ourselves into our new design studios.’
Floyd
In 2014, Kyle Hoff and Alex O’Dell launched a
Kickstarter campaign for ‘The Floyd Leg’. Within
weeks the industrial looking clamp stand, allowing
any flat surface to be converted into a table, had raised
over $256,000 – even though the campaign asked for
just $18,000. People liked how Floyd products allow
customers to make furniture with their own materials,
3. Keep moving
transforming something ‘disposable to indispensable’,
such as a discarded door or a leftover slab of material.
And if part of a Floyd sofa breaks, for example, you
Her new agency is called The Morris Project. Despite her don’t have to throw it away; each part is replaceable, a
recent career changes, things already appear to be going kind of versatility that’s little seen in the industry. The
well. One of the largest projects she is working on is the Detroit-based company targets urbanite consumers, who
second floor food hall, restaurant and speakeasy for typically rent small apartments and relocate often – leaving
London’s newest skyscraper, 22 Bishopsgate, in east behind heavy, hard to assemble furniture. And in an industry
London. She is also working with the celebrated chef where shipping can cost as much as the item on sale, Floyd ship its
Nancy Silverton – who is credited with bringing furniture to customers for free. A partnership with Airbnb helped
Sourdough bread to mainstream America – designing raise awareness of the brand before the company announced
her new LA concept restaurant, Pizzette. a $5.6m Series A funding round last year. Since then, Floyd has
The Morris Project is also designing for more become one of the dominant new furniture companies employing
exotic and futuristic industries, including redesigning every trick from the director-to-consumer playbook.
the interiors and rebranding Boston’s leading Another is Burrow, described as ‘the Glossier of Kamarq
cannabis dispensary and farm, Theory Wellness. For furniture’, whose sofas include USB chargers. Besides the accusations of plagiarism, Kamarq was on
Morris, it’s all about pushing herself into testing out to something with their furniture subscription service
her design in new sectors and never standing still. geared towards urban millennials. So much so that
‘It is such an honour to get the chance to shape the IKEA is now adopting a similar furniture leasing
design of such a young industry,’ says Morris. ‘Most range, meaning after customers return an item at the
people’s experience of buying or sampling cannabis end of its leasing period, they are given the option to
is when they are given it by a doctor or a drug dealer. swap it for something new. Nicknamed the ‘Netflix of
But now we need to design a space that helps to offer furniture’, Kamarq launched in Japan before debuting
real education about cannabis and position it as a in the US last year. Every piece was available to rent
luxury product that needs to be considered in the (without an option to buy) with two plans – six months
same way as purchasing wine or cigars. minimum and 10 months minimum – and prices starting
‘Most competitors just jam all of their products at $5 a month. The furniture you receive is always new, and
together in one display and it is so confusing. I when customers are ready to part with them, Kamarq collects the
wanted to help them to build a much more open and old items and reuses the materials at its factory in Indonesia. With the
relaxing space so we’ve installed sampling sofas and aim of encouraging a circular business model with customers prolonging
tried give the space a homely all-day café feel. the lifespan of a piece of furniture, the business has proven immensely
‘The other important aspect is education,’ she popular since it launched – until users on Instagram pointed comparisons
continues, ‘so we’ve added functional objects like our between several designs and a series by New York designer Ana Kras.
dissected vape pen to show people how the product Within hours almost the entire range – dining and coffee tables, stools
is actually working. Of course, you can enjoy the and a set of bookshelves and boxes, all available in a wide range of bright
product without expert knowledge, but if you want monochromatic options – was pulled. But the company, which derives
to get the most out of it you have to understand the its name from ‘my room’ in Indonesian, has weathered the storm and
difference between strains that can help you be more continues to release new product ranges, drawing inspiration from Japanese
creative and ones that will help you to relax before design and the aesthetics of 1980s Italy, which means clean, modern lines
bed. It is just like wine in that regard, knowledge and lots of bright colour. ‘We aim to become the world’s leading eco-friendly
really does enrich the experience.’ furniture maker,’ says founder Naoki Wada.
29 | Courier Courier | 30COMMENT
COLIN
NAGY
NEW YORK
Dying skills need Specific methods were in
preserving danger of dying out,
as the artisans and makers
H
elping preserve design history
from extinction is a noble cause in were getting old
itself, but a designer and curator in
Mexico is also helping ageing male
members of the population create their preserve artistic heritage.
next act, after they’ve finished the first One example is Don Cornelio, who
phase of their career. learned how to weave as a young man,
Txt.ure is a brand founded by Mexico alongside all of the other men in his
City-based entrepreneur Regina Pozo town. After a long career as a hairdresser
Ruiz. The initial run of products are in his village and taking care of his
intricately woven pieces of furniture mother, he returned to the craft in
based on pre-Hispanic techniques. partnership with Txt.ure.
These specific methods were in danger ‘Through the work we do together,
of dying out, as the artisans and makers I believe Don Cornelio is integrated into
were getting old and disinterested in a social network that visits him every
continuing. Pozo Ruiz realised that two week. He has chores to do, like getting
or three families, based about an hour the palm, storing it, and doing the
outside of Mexico City, held all the weaving, besides the gardening that he
knowledge of the craft – and it was loves to do to keep his beautiful floral
about to go forever. garden alive. He is active, healthy and
After raising funds through small very committed to the craft and to the
private investments and on Kickstarter, work we do together,’ adds Pozo Ruiz.
Pozo Ruiz started with an initial The lead artisan, Don Nacho, has been
collection of the woven furniture, which able to build a workshop, buy a car,
quickly found favour with international provide for his family, and move his
design, and was prominently featured at eldest son into the business. The duo are
Liz Lambert’s Hotel San Cristobal in now producing 75% of the pieces for
Harth Todos Santos, Mexico, among other Txt.ure, which is growing in demand
Over the past couple of years, design writer Henrietta residential and commercial projects from the design community globally.
Thompson grew frustrated with the design industry’s around the world. Both men, neighbours for over
attitude to customers, who are largely targeted with And while others pay heavy lip service 20 years, have found a second act, are
expensive ‘investment pieces’ or cheap, disposable furniture to social good to drive a press narrative, more economically mobile and can
that tends to fall apart. So she started getting in touch with the ethics of the idea are embedded into help keep the weaving technique alive.
designers, collectors and brands (including Tom Dixon and the business from the start. The artisans The resulting projects have a very
Lee Broom), to building an inventory of furniture and are actual business partners and interesting aesthetic: they seem oddly
artworks to hire. By summer 2018, together with her essential to every element of the design futuristic and otherworldly. Through
husband and business partner Ed Padmore, she was ready to and creation. ‘Our production plan lost fragments and narratives of
launch Harth (tagline: ‘Ownership is overrated’). Following in improves the working conditions of the Mexican design history, filtered
the footsteps of brands such as Airbnb and Uber, the interior artisans, ensures the preservation of through a modern, crowdfunded
design rental platform aims to bring the circular economy to traditional techniques and fosters the and socially astute business model,
the world of interiors. As well as renting directly from ‘the aesthetic sensibility of craftsmen and the result seems like a combination of
world’s best brands, designers and artists, galleries and workers,’ says Pozo Ruiz. a storied past with the technology and
dealers’, customers can also pay to borrow furniture from Weaving the chairs in the collection, knowledge of the present.
each other – anyone can upload product pics online – called Tule, takes a high level of physical In the words of Pozo Ruiz:
whether for long-term residential purposes or short-term strength. Artisans need to be fit, and ‘Forgotten masterworks are updated
events. An Eames rocking chair costs around £20 a month, work is almost always done at floor level. for the contemporary user.’ With a
four handmade porcelain vases made by a local potter from But through this requirement, Pozo Ruiz powerful and empathetic backstory
£11.90 a month, while some sculptures go for upwards of realised she was also offering something to boot.
£4,000 a month. Furniture rental companies do already exist, interesting to the community: the ability
but they tend to be old-fashioned. Meanwhile, Harth breaths for men to make a creative pivot after ³ Colin Nagy is head of strategy at global
life into the saying ‘something borrowed, something new’. their first career while also helping advertising agency Fred and Farid.
31 | Courier Courier | 32You can also read
