A Conversation with Troscan Design + Furnishings
"I
think there is a real appetite for things really made still in America
by truly skilled craftspeople and sadly this is a dwindling trade. It is
harder and harder to find skilled makers who can work to a high level.
We make our own pieces because so few workrooms can really achieve the
goals we set out for the pieces. We are now working with musical
instrument makers because it is one of the last places makers devote
years of practice to acquiring skills in making. " - Deirdre Jordan of Troscan
Shadow rises and you are here
And then you cut, You cut it out,
And everything goes back to the beginning" (Hollow Talk) (photo by Jim Warych)
Troscan Design + Furnishings is husband and wife team, Deirdre Jordan and Bob Robinson, who together over the past 12 years have
created a stunning collection of modernist furniture from elemental materials of
wood, stone, bronze, and clay. South of Ukranian Village in Chicago, a
19th-century building houses their workshop on the first floor, and on
the second floor is the concept gallery and showroom, simply called "Room406." In late 2012, Dierdre and Bob created
Room406 to highlight the work of American and international makers,
designer vintage furniture, handcrafted accessories and rare artifacts.
Currently at Room406, the galley is hosting “Transcendent Objects,”
an exhibition that explores how "vessels, textiles and designed objects
become communicators of ritual and meaning," which includes ceramic artist
Ryota Aoki, Portland-based ceramicist Lilith Rockett, photography by
Scott Fortino, and textiles by artist Sarah Nishiura. A huge thank you to Deirdre and Bob for this conversation on their work, their backgrounds, and their personal reflections on American furniture making. - David John
Tell me more about Deirdre Jordan and Bob Robinson, and why did you decide to start Troscan?
Deirdre Jordan: I
began my career as an interior architect but found that I enjoyed
architecture on a smaller scale – the scale of furniture and product
design where I could realize a design much quicker than the large
projects I worked on. Before starting Troscan I was design director at
Holly Hunt in Chicago. Bob is a master craftsman and luthier. In
addition to his work for Troscan, he has a passion for making guitars.
We are very different in our work talents and focus and yet perfectly
complement each other in what we each bring to the collaboration.
I
think there is a real appetite for things really made still in America
by truly skilled craftspeople and sadly this is a dwindling trade. It is
harder and harder to find skilled makers who can work to a high level.
We make our own pieces because so few workrooms can really achieve the
goals we set out for the pieces. We are now working with musical
instrument makers because it is one of the last places makers devote
years of practice to acquiring skills in making. We are also focusing on
working with some craftspeople regionally in rural areas to fill in our
production gaps...we can't make everything and so we look to support
craft manufacturing where we can.
The Gus stool and barstool, design by Deirdre Jordan
Your approach of "discovering luxury in simplicity." Can you
explain this further, and define what is luxury to you? What elements of
luxury are you interested in (materials, comfort, finishes, etc.).
It
is pretty easy to use luxurious materials (fancy finishes and surfaces
like Macassar) to convey a kind of style people understand as luxury.
That is not what I am talking about. To do really refined work that has
simple lines, like the work of Mies van der Rohe for example, requires
such a high level of skill to realize or else you see all the flaws.
To
realize super high craftsmanship with simple lines is it's own kind a
kind of luxury. We also spend a lot of time on where surfaces join,
change, marry. They get a kind of focus on how that is resolved.
Sometimes those details take time to emerge for the person looking at
it...they are not apparent at first glance. Sometimes it is the way a
thing feels in your hand or the surface touch. We know it intimately
and labor and fuss over those quiet details. An example I use is a
limited-edition bronze cocktail table called the Granada. It has a deep
returning bevel that is actually a different patina surface texture than
its polished face, which exaggerates the line where it recedes. It is
actually really hard to cast bronze large and get a great surface polish
without pits...so this takes a time commitment and skill level by the
maker. It is kind of like when a painter uses certain painting
techniques to convey space or surface ...we care about that stuff and
that is a luxury.
Bob Robinson at work in the studio
photo by Janet Moran
What do you see the reasons for your success?
We
have maintained a kind of authenticity to our goals, our quality and
our aesthetic. Hopefully the designs evolve over time and we continue to
challenge ourselves with new materials, processes etc. Our work is a
natural extension of who we are and so hopefully that translate into
what others see as success. We just do what we seem to have been born to
do.
I am interesting in hearing you talk about materials further. Any
materials that just get you beyond excited to work with? Or a material
you thought you could not work with but eventually found a way to work
with? Any materials that are local to the Mid West that you are proud
to have in your work? The most sublime material?
We
have worked in a lot of materials that sometime initially excited us
but proved difficult to maintain quality over time. We respond often to
our clients’ needs but love to work in new processes and combine
materials. For example we had a request from a great client to do a
large reception desk for a 5 star hotel project in Shanghai using real
tortoise. We could not ethically agree so we proposed the material used
by luthiers on guitars called "pic guard" which is a cast resin to look
like tortoise that we used as tiles. It was beautiful but challenging.
We did explore using on some limited-edition pieces, but it never really
had enough response for us to get into major production. Clients love
the beautiful natural wood surfaces, the hand and feel of a thing with
soul. I think all our work that has been most successful has been with
pieces were you can see the texture, the surface with a hand rubbed or
burnished surface.
We are exploring a range of cast
porcelain to combine with bronze and wood for lighting and bronze with
large wood turnings. I also super interested in formed leather and
combining that with wood and bronze. I am very in love with opaque white
glass at the moment but it is another material with its own hurdles
because not many people work with it and sourcing workrooms is a
challenge.
I think bronze is a material that
particularly resonates with us because of its longevity and it's
tactility. We work with an art foundry and the learning curve on
producing the desired results has been really exciting. We see its use
for so many different forms combined with our wood processes as a
growing part of our collection.
Basi Table
In
regards to wood, Bob has a very deep knowledge of this material as a
master craftsman and maker of fine guitars. We always find a way to try
to push this fundamental material – for example we were interested in
developing large-scale wood turned tables that could translate into a
more refined and less rustic spaces. Since it’s physically impossible to
dry solid-turned wood without cracking, we invented a proprietary
technique for hollowing the core of the table. After the initial
turning, the wood is dried over time in a custom-built kiln and drying
room. It can take up to six months to dry each piece depending on the
wood species and inherent humidity. Each piece needs to have multiple
turnings to keep the table round. Our hollowing out makes the piece
inherently more stable and holds the form without the cracks becoming a
surface detraction. It’s a very sculptural final form, which we call the
Basi. We love rustic turned pieces, too, but a lot of folks do that and
we wanted to remain true to our personal history and aesthetic
Another
great thing about the Basi, which is representative of what we do, is
that is that we are able to source wood that is typically overlooked.
For this piece, we like highly figured pieces like tree crotches because
we believe it gives more character - this is the stuff typically
rejected by loggers and turned into firewood or pulp. So our interest in
materials often results in a more sustainable solution. We source the
wood directly form the logger locally and so have a truly green
process...not just the appearance of a sustainable product.
If
you are interested in learning more about how we source our wood and
how it impacts our design we wrote a blog post about it. We always
support small sawmills and go to the source as we find this makes a huge
impact on the heirloom quality of our product.
(more here)
Another
thing I would add is that we seem to be moving away from some of the
more exotic woods to rediscover some of the beautiful native woods. Our
customers are requesting this as well. And this is exciting for us as it
means that we can go to the forests and sawmills where our wood comes
from and truly be a part of the very origin of the design process.
As
far as Midwestern sourcing goes, we also source from a family-owned
tannery in Chicago. It might be fun to go there when you come! When
Chicago was the meat-packing capital back in the day, there were lots
and lots of tanneries. Sadly our tannery is one of the last in the
country. All that industry has gone to Asia in a rush for lowest
possible price. Our local tannery is a great source for us and has
beautiful, old, hand-applied and secret processes that make them the
coveted source for real cordovan leather for premium men's shoes. We
have them make leather for some of our chairs since the type we want is
not really commercially available for upholstery.
Ferros Table designed by Deirdre Jordan
What were the early days of Troscan like, and how quickly were you able to find success?
We
were represented right away by Holly Hunt and within the first year
Tiffany & Co. became a primary client for their stores
worldwide...so we were off and running from the very first day.
At what point were you picked up by Holly Hunt, and how has they helped their business?
We
introduced our first pieces at a show called Chicago Design, which was
intended to compete with ICFF. It only lasted two or three years but it
was a great platform for us to present a collection. Holly came to us at
the show and offered us Chicago representation, and it grew from there.
It was a natural extension of my work I did with Holly and she was very
supportive of us. She has been a recognized force in our industry and
helped us to define a client base for the level we wanted to work at. We
were very fortunate to have her support and she has been an advocate of
ours for many years
Were there any specific growing
pains, and stumbles that felt too big to tackle?
We opened our doors
right before 9-11 and those were scary times only because the world
didn't seem to be focused on design, and our sort of industry seemed not
that much a part of the zeitgeist, which was totally what we expected.
Luckily things picked up and we stayed very busy ...really too busy at
times when we grew faster than we wanted. We had to learn how to manage a
large group of woodworkers and that wasn't always easy.
the interior of Room406
photos by Brian Guido and Julia Stoltz
What is the concept of Room406, the Chicago design gallery you opened up in late 2012?
Room406
is a new concept venue and gallery for furniture and accessories. We
highlight the work of American and international makers, designer
vintage furniture, handcrafted accessories and rare artifacts. We also
showcase the Troscan Design furniture line. The gallery is our home base
and is located just south of the city's Ukrainian Village. We are next
door to a boxing studio and across the street from a maker of pierogies
and borscht... So the true Chicago experience!
Our
19th-century building houses our workshop on the first floor. On the
second floor is Room406. The gallery space has high ceilings and natural
skylights and exposed brick walls. The feeling is intended to be very
residential with a fireplace and open kitchen – most often people come
in and think it is our home!
What is the goal of this space?
There
are several goals but probably the overarching theme is to be able to
interact with people in a way that we haven’t been able to through the
traditional showroom model. We are able to truly show who we are and our
vision for how our spaces can reflect our interests, passions and
personalities. Also, we are also able to offer support to other makers
in this space and create a community. I also think the model for
aspirational spaces that typical showrooms present isn't necessarily how
people live and I wanted to show how one might truly live with design
where things with texture and patina mix with new materials and forms.
Ryota Aoki pottery at Room406
photos above by by Jim Warych
What collections does Room406 carry, and what are the plans in the future?
Exclusive offerings include merino and cashmere throws by Brooklyn weaver
Hiroko Takeda, a former designer for Larsen, hand-thrown luminous white porcelain vessels by Oregon potter
Lillith Rockett, gorgeous recycled sari and silk, nettle and wool rugs by Germany’s
Jan Kath and colorful handspun twill blankets and textiles by
Studio Donegal from Kilcar County, Ireland. We also will soon have a variety of new ceramics from
Tortus Copenhagen, and some new
Sophie Cook
porcelain. We are working on a collection of new bronze, porcelain and
leather objects branded Room406 products that is currently in
development including lighting and domestic accessories. I’m extremely
excited about the new line that will most likely be launching in spring
2015. We of course also have the great vintage and antique pieces that
vary from Japanese iron "Tsubas " which are gorgeous sword handle
shields, kashigata cookie molds and vintage axe heads...all sharing a
thoughtfulness by the way they were crafted or designed.
Who designed the space, and what was the space before Room406?
It
was originally a machine shop and we designed and built out the space
to be our home base, design studio and entertainment space. The ground
floor is still functioning as a working making space, but the upstairs
was a complete renovation resurrecting the skylights, adding light
bleached oak floors and restoring what we could of the windows.
How do you find the artists for the gallery shows?
I
look for artists and designers whose work I would (and do!) love enough
to have in our own home. These are artists whose work we have
personally admired and who in most cases have become our friends through
Room406. I also work closely with a few curators we admire and who have
introduced to both local and international artists, so we have been
lucky really to find great artwork through our network. The artists have
all expressed how they love having a chance to step outside of the
white box and to have their work seen in context as to how people might
live with it. Collectors also love this new context for seeing what I
will call "real art" in a domestic sort of environment. Mostly showroom
art can tend to toward the kind of work with really broad appeal that is
not that interesting and is more decorative...that is not what we are
about.
Can
you share some advice for beginning furniture designers attempting to
grow their business. A furniture design business can be extremely
difficult to launch, and I would be very interested in hearing your
perspective.
1.Though it is hard to do if you are a
creative person, establishing a routine and organizational method for
capturing and retaining ideas is super important. Simply sketching away
in notebooks works for some of us but not all of me! I really need
defined design problems and work best when I have parameters. It somehow
fuels my creativity more than having ALL the possibilities in front of
me. Bob works best as a focused problem solver, so for us that kind of
defined design with organization helps us be much more prolific.
2.
Create a collection where the scale of the pieces works together. Many
designers look at doing only type of thing or working in limited palette
of materials, but for us we wanted a certain feel, weight and
refinement of details that maybe would not work great with different
scale or less refined lines and materials. The pieces don't have to be
realized as full working prototypes but can be 3 d modeled to show a
complete thought. I think then designers or clients can see how to use
the pieces instead of just as isolated moments or ideas.
3.
Learn about the market, the business, the industry. Often would-be
furniture designers get seduced but the star designer that has that
cult "it " design and then works to emulate that success with their own
hoped for rock star moment. It is work to make beautiful pieces with
design longevity and staying power and not like a lottery.
It
sometimes takes a lot of bad ideas to get to a well resolved, thoughtful
and beautiful piece...and at is work much like a musician practices
their music or a dancer works out...albeit it is pleasurable work for us
but it is work.
4. One more thing....learn
from the makers wherever and whenever you can! Design is not an
aesthetic concept. Design is the verb of making the thing come to life
after the concept and the people who make the pieces can SO bring much
to the final outcome.
Furniture designers of the top of your head that you look to for inspiration?
Poul
Kjaerholm, Joaquim Tenreiro, Prouve, and Eero Saarinen. The anonymous
vernacular designer is usually the best. Christian Liaigre really
figured that out and made it his own aesthetic. The best designers can
see the beauty in the simplicity. That is inspiration in its self.
What
has been the most successful piece of Troscan Collection, and is there a
signature piece in your collection? A personal favorite is the
Sumo Table.
I think this table is such an incredible statement of how rusticity can be in full harmony of modernity, and inform the other.
We
are working more in the vein of the Sumo. It is definitely our favorite
kind of work we do. We have many more in that collection coming out in
the next 4-6 months if we can keep ahead of orders on the Sumo!
Sometimes
the most successful pieces are the bread and butter...but they support
the other work so it is all good.
The Bella chair has been our single
most successful piece. It fits all body types and has a sort of classic
appeal, I suppose. The Weekend Ottoman too. It is an easy piece to live
with and people tell us they love it because its one unusual feature is
that you can put your feet on it and the tray top moves. I never
imagined that years alter we would still be selling so many of those! I
have dogs and a young child so we have one too because it is also family
friendly!
Where is your work sold? National and international?
We are sold nationally through
Holly Hunt and
Desousa Hughes
and Town. Our projects live all over the world and include 5 star
hotels, high end retail like Tiffany & Co, restaurants and
private residences . We consider ourselves primarily a residential
furniture company but more than 30% of work ends up in commercial
projects where the clients require a certain level of design and quality
atypical of contract projects.
Visit Troscan Design + Furnishings here.
Thank you Deirdre Jordan and Bob
Robinson!
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