Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 41
Occupation: Designer.
Instagram: @rossgardam.
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia.
Studio location: Melbourne, Australia.
Describe what you make: I design contemporary lighting and furniture. Each product has strong ties to time and place. Materiality and manufacturing processes are key drivers in the studio, balanced with a keen eye on what makes people happy.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: The Nebulae Collection was an informative product for the studio. It brought a flexible, modular piece to our existing lighting range. It was a challenging product to engineer, but the final outcome reflects many of the studio’s values.
Describe the problem your work solves: We’re a studio that pairs industrial design with traditional manufacturing techniques and craft processes. The products often explore different ways to solve functional problems, such as articulation, assembly, and light reflection. How people use our products and how they personally value them is key to how I gauge the success of any given project.
Describe the project you are working on now: We’re developing a chandelier that explores traditional glass blowing techniques in a new way. The collection launches later this year and will continue the studio ethos to create new and distinctive products that challenge the norm.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: We’re launching our Nebulae Horizontal collection at ICFF (May 19–22), which expands the Nebulae range from ICFF 2018. The Horizontal Nebulae lets it function in larger spaces and in a more modular fashion. We’re also launching Hemera, a monolithic desk lamp, for the first time in the United States. While simple in form, it needs to be seen in person to be fully appreciated.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: The 3D printer is handy, but music and coffee keep me fueled.
What you do when you’re not working: I’m a bit of an NBA tragic so enjoying the playoffs at the moment. I like boxing and spar three times a week, which keeps me fit and focused. I travel as much as possible—I just returned from Tokyo last week. It’s one of my top two places to spend time, the other being New York.
Sources of creative envy: Bill Henson, Jan Fabre, Nick Cave, maybe I should have answered Dark below…
The distraction you want to eliminate: Instagram.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse.
Remember or forget? Remember, for now anyway.
Aliens or ghosts? Aliens mainly because of H.R. Giger.
Dark or light? Light.
