Loving local
Arkivio blends artisan techniques & mod technologies to create striking homeware
We chat to Lance Surgeson, one half of Durban design studio Arkivio, creators of contemporary homeware, lighting and mirrors
How did you end up in design?
My business partner, Paul Rabinowitz, studied industrial design in Milan, while I studied economics in Cape Town. When we started working together in 2013, we both had a passion for building and business, which soon manifested in the design and testing of our first product, the Glass Garden Vase.
How would you describe Arkivio, in a nutshell?
As a synergy between craft techniques and modern technology. The craft techniques have at their core the pursuit of perfection, care and dedication to detail and we combine this with newly available methods of precision laser cutting, 3D design and modern components.A piece you’d love to make?
We’d like to build a range of outdoor furniture in wire frame — it would be an interesting learning curve.
A design destination you’d like to travel to?
Tokyo, Japan. From what we have seen, it looks like a melting pot of experimentation and exploration.
A South African design item you’d like to own?
A Porky Hefer chair.
And an international one?
Any piece of furniture by Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec, a design team formed by brothers in France.
Who would you love to own one of your products?
Anyone with good taste.
Good design is ...
... cleverly simple...
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