It was five years ago now that I chatted with the founder of Mater, Henrik Marstrand; so when I attended the brand’s latest launch in London recently, I knew it was time to tell you more about their innovative new lighting series.
Named the ‘Terra Collection’, and comprising of a dimmable pendant, wall lamp, and portable, these striking products have been produced in collaboration with none other than Copenhagen-based, OEO Studio.
Working with the brand for almost twenty years, the award-winning design duo, Thomas Lykke and Anne-Marie Buemann are renowned for putting human values first. Drawing inspiration from their Scandinavian heritage, and fusing this with Asian aesthetics, whether it’s branding, product design, architecture or interiors, their warm, welcoming and unpretentious approach, as well as their keen attention to craftsmanship and detail, makes them a name ever Nordic design lover should know.
So, before the Mater event I caught up with Creative Director and Co-Founder of OEO Studio, Thomas Lykke, and here’s what he had to tell me:
Can you start by telling us how you and Anne-Marie met and the journey to founding OEO Studio?
Anne-Marie and I met through a mutual friend 21 years ago in Copenhagen and shortly after started OEO Studio. Originally, my background was as a fashion designer before I took the step into interiors, becoming the Interiors Editor of Wallpaper* Magazine.
In the early days our focus was more on the strategic side of design, for example, shaping design philosophies, and building brands, but it quickly became natural for us to become a full-service design and architecture studio.
You’re known for your ‘Compelling Minimalism’ design philosophy, but what and who inspires this approach?
Compelling Minimalism is a philosophy we have continued to develop throughout our years together and is driven by our Scandinavian values as well as our deep appreciation of Asian aesthetics. Our approach is not about taking things away but focussed on the power of emotions, and creating coherent concepts with purpose, engaging with people and making them feel inspired and special.
You have just launched a new lighting collection with Mater. Can you explain more about it?
Mater was a brand we helped build from idea to realisation back in 2006, so it is a full loop story. We are also 100% material nerds and love quality, texture and what a material does to a design.
Inspired by Mater’s unique Matek™ system, we wanted to design a lamp where the material itself ‘shines’ through so to speak. Consisting of upcycled post-consumer plastics mixed with a binder of coffee shell waste which is then heated through kinetic rotation into a malleable mass and pressed into any given shape, Matek™ looks like no other material, especially not an upcycled material,
Minimalist, precise, and timeless, the simple conical forms of Terra, in both the ‘Coffee Waste Black’ or ‘Coffee Waste Red Rust’ contrast perfectly with the tactile nature of the Matek™, giving the series a familiar yet also surprising fresh and intriguing expression.
With materiality running through all your designs for the brand, do you see it as reinventing every time or building on what has come before?
The world is flooded with products, and while it can be quite difficult to bring something new to the table, we always strive to bring something different. I think the purpose and function changes with the design, you just need to look at our Compound chairs and Lily tables to see that. There is also an interesting new design on its way, where the material composition has changed too, further pushing the message of conscious design.
Finally, where do you go, or what do you do when you need a creative recharge?
To the countryside of Denmark completely switching off my mindset. It is my little Japan and Zen zone. On the other hand, I also get energy and buzz from traveling to other cultures, meeting people and stimulating my curiosity, most likely with a camera in my hand.
Want to know more?
Thanks again to Thomas for chatting with me, to find out more about the Terra Collection, visit the Mater website, or to see more from OEO studio click here.
All images courtesy of Mater.
Enjoyed this post? Then read my chat with Cecilie Manz, and find out more about her latest collection created in collaboration with Fritz Hansen.
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