H&H UNPLUGGED

Steven John Clark is a Scottish artist based in Melbourne, Australia, well known for developing sculptures and going beyond the limits to work on exciting materials, especially stones. Clark started his career as a stonemason, and now his uniquely designed pieces are the ultimate stonemasonry guide to crafting art. Steven spoke with Yoko Choy about his life journey and pure admiration for stones that led to the creation of beautiful art pieces out of stone. The Scottish artist revealed his new upcoming work, which will display in Dubai.

Paul Cocksedge is known for developing sculptural furnishings and large-scale public interventions that communicate complex concepts through pure, intriguing forms. Each artwork is a vehicle for narrative, Cocksedge draws inspiration from the physical process of making. In this interview, Yoko Choy is looking to understand more about the British artist and designer's search for hidden values and properties in materials and how he transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Sabine Marcelis, the Dutch-New Zealand designer based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, is challenging the status quo worldwide with her works with light, water, glass, and resins. One of the most sought-after names in the collectible design scene, Sabine speaks with Yoko Choy about her exciting new projects and personal works.

What inspires Sabine is the interaction between light and materials. One of the best examples is the installation 'The Shape of Water' she created for Fendi, exhibited at Design Miami in 2018. And recently, she was approached by Ikea to design an object for their Art Event in 2021, in which a wall lamp was conceived using a single sheet of paper with a cut through it to create an interesting lighting effect.

Designer Teo Yang spent many years studying and working abroad to gain global experience to influence his work, but eight years ago he returned to Seoul in his native South Korea, from where he discusses with Yoko Choy his mission to breathe new life into the country’s famed heritage.  

He chose specifically to set up his home-cum-studio in one of the capital’s traditional villages, immersed in its ancient architecture. But he acknowledges the dichotomy of the still-revered ancient ways existing alongside the super high-tech character of this mega-city and it is his studio’s mission to create a harmonious balance between the two in an eclectic range of projects.

Considered a leader among South Korea’s contemporary designers, he was chosen to refurbish the space for the Gyeongju National Museum. In redesigning Seoul’s Kukje Gallery, the space became not just a home for art, but a living space that recreated a collector’s gallery together with a dining room, fitness studio and spa – a holistic concept blending art and contemporary lifestyle. Not least, he is also the mastermind behind a range of skincare based on Korean traditional remedies. And in a commission by de Gournay, the celebrated British wallpaper manufacturer, to add a new Korean collection of handcrafted wallpapers to its range, he was able to further promote Korean culture and values internationally through his work. Truly a man for all eras.

In this podcast, Yoko Choy, China editor of Wallpaper* and co-founder of Collective Contemporist, a creative consultancy with offices in China and Amsterdam that brings together designers from East and West for cross-cultural exchanges and collaborations, talks to internationally renowned Italian designer Luca Nichetto.

Yoko Choy chats to German designer Sebastian Herkner, who established his studio in Offenbach in his native country after he graduated in 2007 from the city’s University of Art and Design. The city is commonly noted for two main things: its weather forecasting centre and its historic leather industry. But now, it is home to one of the design industry’s most sought-after young studios, too. 

Seeing the dismantling of a once-thriving culture of craftsmanship, in which many of his friends’ parents had worked, was a major factor in determining Sebastian’s artistic direction. In an era when new materials and technologies are the Holy Grail for designers, he took a totally different tack, reaching back in time and opting for traditional materials as the medium for his first major commercial product. Shown in Milan’s SaloneSatellite for young designers in 2009, his Bell Table – with, counterintuitively, a brass top and glass bottom – gained good reviews but it took him some time to find a producer. When he did, his career took off. He continues to focus on craftsmanship from around the world, visiting and learning from experienced artisans from South America to the Far East and adapting their materials and expertise for the contemporary market. Since then, the studio has produced big hits for international brands such as Agape, & Tradition, Cappellini, ClassiCon, Fritz Hansen, Ligne Roset, Moroso, Wittmann, Zanotta, to name just a few.

In this podcast Yoko Choy catches up with architect Dara Huang, who runs Design Haus Liberty, with studios in London and Hong Kong; in January 2021, she is adding a furniture collection to the mix. The child of Taiwanese immigrants to the United States, Dara was born in America, where if not exactly picked on, she was made aware of her ethnic minority origins. Her father, a NASA scientist, was a positive, yet unobtrusive influence in her life, wanting only that she studied (she went to Harvard) in order to be independent and make her own choices. 

-

Unplugged, conversations with creative minds, from the design industry and beyond, an initiative by H&H Studio Dubai.

In conversation with Yoko Choy, the China editor for Wallpaper* magazine and co-founder of creative consultancy Collective Contemporist. The conversation highlights Yoko's mission to raise awareness of the importance of cross-cultural exchange in the creative industry and businesses.

Chinese young designers Yoko mentions during the conversation: 

Mario TSAI

CHEN Min

Pinwu Studio

Fnji Furniture

Benwu Studio

The Shaw Studio

Qiu Design

Collaborators: 

Studio Drift

New Tendency

-

Unplugged, conversations with creative minds, from the design industry and beyond, hosted by H&H Studio. 

Our guest needs no introduction, as he is preceded by his architectural masterpieces, so we shall just share his advice: "Believe in something bigger than yourself, believe something that is not just on the common highway, but takes a path that may be more vulnerable, a path which may even make you fail. But take that path, because on that path you will discover something that is an adventure, that you could have not predicted when you started on that path," - Daniel Libeskind - Founder and Principal Architect of Studio Libeskind

-

Unplugged, conversations with creative minds, from the design industry and beyond, hosted by H&H Studio. 

"Without very good entrepreneurs, Italian design is an inexistent world. They take the risk, they choose. Of course, we work together, we are in a team. But without them, without their energy, nothing is possible." - Piero Lissoni in an UNPLUGGED conversation.

-

Unplugged, conversations with creative minds, from the design industry and beyond, hosted by H&H Studio.