New kids on the block: Outofstock
by Georgia Klebleev

Gabriel Tan and Wendy Chua from Singapore, Gustavo Maggio from Argentina and Sebastián Alberdi from Spain are four talented, award winning designers that met in 2005 at the Electrolux Design Lab, in Stockholm. They kept in touch and one year later decided to take it up a notch and formed Outofstock, an integrated studio offering interior and product design services.

This year we were pleased to see seven of their pieces within Salone Sattelite in Milan. Besides the final products, what caught our attention was the work that lies behind it, a collective effort based on the inspiration and values of four people that come from different corners of the world.
Gabriel Tan was pleased to answer some questions for Designro, as you’ll see in the interview bellow.

DESIGNRO: How does a team whose members come from different corners of the world, all with different cultural background collaborate?

Gabriel Tan: Coming from different cultural backgrounds makes our creative dialogues more interesting as we have different life experiences and perspectives on design and the world. It takes a lot of commitment and dedication to work together on a regular basis when we are based in different cities, and thankfully the four of us were never short on that.

DESIGNRO: Your team fusion after you met in Stockholm. On what level is your vision towards a product influenced by the Scandinavian style?

Gabriel Tan: I wouldn’t say we are influenced by the Scandinavian style as we were only in Stockholm for a workshop and did not live there. However we share a common admiration for the honest usage of materials, smart details and well-controlled form.

DESIGNRO: Could you describe the steps of the creative process while working on a project?

Gabriel Tan: For a client-based commission we always start with understanding the client and finding as much as we can about the company, and then doing a relevant research on the end-user, how they live and interact with the space or product. We try not to look at other competitors on the market before we start designing, and try to find additional inspiration from everyday objects, nature or literature. However, we always make a check or survey of the market once we have a few concepts in mind, so that we can filter out any ideas that have already been done before. We believe in originality.

DESIGNRO: Was your presence at Salone Satellite this year prolific? Did you have any interests coming from producers?

Gabriel Tan: Yes we did have a very positive response from producers. We are currently developing some of the projects with firmly interested producers and we hope they can be on the market next year.

DESIGNRO: Could you give us a background story for the pieces presented in Milan as far as inspiration goes?

Gabriel Tan: Well, this year we wanted to try working with new materials and techniques that we never tried before so therefore you see glass, as well as plywood bending pieces in the collection. It was less about a poetic story but rather exploring connections and structures, as can be seen in Easy Chair and V-shelves. The raft sofa was trying to address the lifestyle of people today who move around a lot and so may only want to invest money in a sofa that they can bring along to their next home. The Boya Lamp was about the interesting combination and connection of two materials, while the Mute chair and Biscuit stool were about honest forms and subtle woodworking details.

DESIGNRO: Were the pieces presented in Milan prototypes?

Gabriel Tan: What we presented at the Salone Satellite this year are prototypes. Although for Biscuit Stool and Mute Chair we recently made a limited production run for two new restaurants that we designed. For the designs in production we have Black Forest (Ligne Roset), Glide Chair and Hull Table (for Foundry), Arbor Desk and Naked Chair (for Bolia, Denmark).

Mute Chair

A chair in solid maple whose understated elegance is expressed though the seamless transitions between its curved seat, legs and backrest.

Biscuit Stool

A stool in solid oak, Biscuit is a trusty companion for breakfast or afternoon tea. The seat edge is gently curved for a pleasant seating and tactile experience. Robust legs in turned wood are strengthened with criss-crossed dowels, completing a stool which uses no screws in its construction.

Easy Chair

A generously proportioned easy chair made of bent laminated plywood, with the front and rear leg structures stacked to form a stable brace support. Finished in maple wood veneer.

Boya

A table or bedside lamp inspired by nautical beacons and marine buoys. Lamp base in turned solid oak or walnut and lamp shade in grey tinted blown glass.

V Shelves

A laminated plywood shelf that has a gentle ”v” at one end to enable the user to display an open book. The two wall-fixation components that resemble books in shape and size also act as bookends.

Raft Sofa

A sofa suited for today’s nomadic lifestyle and shrinking apartment sizes. The gaps between the solid ash rods allow for the seat and backrest cushions to be strapped onto it. Its raft-inspired base frame can be disassembled completely for easy transportation through narrow stairways and doors. Modularity is possible with a longer base frame and more cushions.

Hues Table

Inspired by the overlay of colors in venn diagrams, this set of nesting tables is composed of waterjet-cut low iron glass tops that are sandblasted and coloured. Legs and support frame in painted steel.

Outofstock