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Studio Juju’s Priscilla Lui and Timo Wong believe that furniture and objects should be designed to evoke an emotive reaction that will help to discourage over-consumption, which is an important mindset towards a sustainable future.
Trained as industrial designers, Priscilla Lui and Timo Wong established Studio Juju in 2009 based on the premise of designing with fresh perspectives and an emotional connection. The studio manoeuvres between different scales and across genres in design and art. Each project is a union of simplicity and warmth, utility and whimsy, refinement and relevance.
The pair work out of a spacious office here.
Just two years in, the young studio bagged the Designers of the Future award at Design Miami/ Basel 2011. At the 2014 President*s Design Award Singapore, their Rabbit & the Tortoise Collection for Living Divani, a family of seven table with fluid forms and varying sizes, was conferred Design of the Year. Most recently, the duo founded O Design Office, which focuses on a diverse portfolio of spatial designs for dwellings, workplaces, retail and exhibition spaces.
Priscilla and Timo approach sustainability as part of their decision-making process while designing or during production. They believe that this is the best way of finding opportunities to integrate sustainability into their work. These considerations have implications on the life cycle of things, what they are made of, how they are constructed, how long they can last, and how they can be renewed.
The design duo has witnessed firsthand the positive impact that their decisions and actions on sustainability can have on the environment and on the life cycles of their products in the market.
One example of a product that produces no waste or offcuts in the production process is a series of modular coffee tables designed in collaboration with Mater, a Danish company with sustainability embedded in its core. The coffee tables are constructed using Mater’s circular material, Matek, which comprises post-consumer e-waste mixed with waste from coffee bean shells.
Another way of embracing sustainability is through creating with intention to produce designs that can foster an emotional connection with end users. When you enjoy the use of a piece of furniture or the presence of an object in your home, you are more inclined to keep and preserve them for many years to come.
When it comes to sustainability, most of the furniture manufacturers that Studio Juju works with already adopt sustainable practices through the use of renewable materials and cleaner production methods. Cost-wise, sustainable materials and production technology take time to develop, which may result in higher costs due to the invested man-hours or market obscurity. However, they do see more renewable materials being used in furniture products and prices are also becoming more affordable. The two believe that ultimately, the attitude of the individual is important when it comes to being part of a circular economy.