One Thing Design
British designer John Tree likes singular things: Singular materials and singular manufacturing processes especially. Designing a new table light for Vaarnii that combines brawn and delicacy has been the ideal project with which to apply his consummate knowledge and enduring love of a graphic form.
Laura Houseley: Recently, you have been establishing your own design studio. How have you found setting out a design philosophy of your own?
John Tree: I’ve been trying to find a narrative and an approach that is mine. I worked with Jasper Morrison for 22 years before this. And prior to that, I was at Sony with a more high-tech remit. And before that I studied furniture and product design. So, I’ve always had a foot in both the furniture and product design camps. I have an interest in materials and then in gaining an understanding of what a manufacturer can do with them.
How does that manifest itself into products?
I like exploring singular materials and singular processes, a singular finish. I suppose a lot of my work is very singular: Very one thing. I try to find the form within the process, rather than applying a form and then finding a way to make it.
Vaarnii, with our strong principles and mono-materiality, was a good brief for you then?
I enjoy how you can clearly read an object when it has been made from a single material. To my eye, it makes things very graphic. Some designers think about finishes rather than forms, but I am very much form-driven. Plus, pine is a very traditional material, but the way in which Vaarnii treats it is very hi-tech, and I like that. Miklu’s (Vaarnii co-founder) tech background nicely underlines that approach.
How did the design come about?
I approached Vaarnii as soon as they appeared. We talked about different objects, but lighting stood out. I noted that within Vaarnii’s palette of pine, the veneer is thin and delicate whilst the solid pine used for furniture is so monolithic and brutal. I thought it would be nice to try and push those two things together; to think of an object where both those languages exist as one.
Had you worked with pine before?
My father was a carpenter and I grew up in a house with a workshop and tons of pine. So, I am very familiar with it but haven’t used it much myself. It's a forgotten material I think. We overdosed on it in the sixties and seventies and then abandoned it. I like the relaxed informality of the material.
What are the main characteristics of the Hoop light?
The contrast between the weight of solid pine and the delicacy of the fine veneer is important. The solid supportive base is doing a very distinct job by holding the delicate part in place; the solid pine base brings weight and stability, it feels very anchored, but then there is a delicacy and lightness to the veneer shade. The two individual parts, although very different in their material properties, have comparative widths and proportions. It is shipped in two parts; the shade isn’t glued in, it just sits very simply on the base. The base gives the illusion of a solid block of pine in the base, but is actually made in three parts. The slight angle added to the shade is a little nod to the classic Castiglioni Snoopy light.
It looks a very effortless design; I imagine you will tell me it wasn’t effortless at all?
Simplicity is hard to achieve. There is, ironically, real complexity to it. Removing things from a design is much more difficult than adding things. I was just trying to cut everything away with this form. I’ve removed everything non-essential in order to just be left with the pine itself. But the design arrived fully formed to be honest.
And there was a technical challenge with the shade?
Achieving the wide span of the unsupported shade was a challenge, we’ve pushed it as far as it will go. The veneer has to be thin enough to allow light to shine through, but stable enough to hold its shape.
Is there any other consideration for you when you design lighting?
Lighting is interesting because it has two states: on and off. The experience of a light when it’s off isn’t always considered; it can look strange or dead. Hoop is still an engaging object with a sculptural feel even when switched off. When on, the quality of the light is important and with Hoop, the veneer lights up beautifully. In this design the bulb is visible. It has that kind of honest simplicity to it.
Have you enjoyed the Vaarnii production process?
The Vaarnii method of testing objects is robust and quite specific.
You mean how things get left out in the snow…
(Laughs) Yes, exactly that. But I also really enjoy the combination of tradition and hi-tech; it speaks to my way of thinking too.
How do you expect people to use Hoop?
They are sculptural objects that are so solid, you aren’t afraid to touch it and pick it up, move it. It is designed to be used anywhere and anyhow. It has that nice combination of being delicate and robust at the same time. It is intentionally trying to represent Vaarnii’s values in an object.
Do you feel you know more about Pine after the process?
Yes, particularly pine veneer. It was very satisfying to push it to its limit. This is probably the largest piece of unsupported veneer in the history of lighting design. If that's a thing.
That's a claim!
We got as far as we could pushing it in terms of scale. It’s been a great exploration of a material and a great exploration of a brand.
