INTERVIEW

Raw-Edges Design Studio

Biography

Raw-Edges Design Studio is an ongoing collaboration between Yael Mer and Shay Alkalay. Together, Mer and Alkalay share a common goal to create objects that have never been seen before. Mer’s main focus is in transforming two-dimensional sheet materials into curvaceous functional forms, whereas Alkalay is fascinated by how things move, function, and react. Since graduating from the Royal College of Art in 2006, they have received a number of awards, including the British Council Talented Award, iF Gold Award, Dutch Design Award, Wallpaper* Design Award 2009, and the Elle Decoration International Design Award for best furniture of 2008–09. Their work has been shown in major exhibitions worldwide including New York, Paris, Basel, core idea fresh, clear and Milan, and their designs can be found within the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York and the Design Museum, London.

Interview

What are the difficulties of bringing a product to market?

Keeping the core idea fresh, clear, and direct without compromising too much due to functionality, production constraints, and market needs. Unfortunately, it does not happen every day, but when you get a good idea, somehow all these factors complete each other quite smoothly.

How do you decide which materials and manufacturing methods to use?

The usage of materials and manufacturing methods is fundamental in our design work. From the first stage we experiment with the actual material and it is very rare that we finish the sketching stage without knowing how to make it and from what material. We feel very comfortable with turning simple and common materials into something new by twisting ordinary processes into unconventional methods. The way we treat materials and methods leads to new design ideas. For example, in the Tailored Wood series, we used veneer not as a surface covering but as a structural mold that held the shape before the polyurethane casting.

How do you define the markets for your products?

We are driven by the ideas that we have and we hope to find someone out there who will appreciate them. We actually don’t have target markets as such, and we don’t direct our designs towards specific customers. Maybe our market is in fact people who find our designs interesting and inspiring.

How does your designed product reach the market?

Through exhibitions, retailers, and shops, publications and press, and, of course, through design blogs and websites.

Plastic Nostalgic, 2008. This cabinet is a carefully crafted beech wood design redolent of the Fisher Price plastic toys of childhood memories.

Tailored Wood, 2008. Making this stool involves a technique commonly used in the clothing industry to furniture design, to create a pattern that is filled with foam. The pattern itself becomes both the defining surface and the mold. In a sense it is a reversal of upholstery in which normally a skin is applied over the stuffing.

Collection of innovative designs, 2006–10, ranging from batch-produced limited editions to commercially produced products for companies such as Established & Sons.