Crafting unique, one-of-a-kind designs – The story of two artist-designers

In the recent past, we used to see designers, especially Italian ones, dressed in nice suits, talking about how they got inspiration to create their latest suspension lamp. Later, they were put on the PR stage and became stars, starting a more eccentric image connected to popularity. More recently, the designer has taken on another perspective: that of the person who is doing things, not just designing them. Here is the story of Yellow Nose Studio.

Due to the fact that some years ago, certain European countries didn’t have many manufacturing companies dedicated to design, many emerging designers started to make things on their own. This created a new scenario where these designers became entrepreneurs, artists, or simply gained enough exposure to start a career.

Eindhoven set the standard for this; they had (and have) a lot of talented designers who created their own way of seeing things, making innovations, and selling their projects, both realized or on paper. Design became fluid and lost its rigid rules on “how to do it.” This is great because innovation often hides behind difficulties, and design once again found a niche to explore.

Even if this seems like a European phenomenon – from the perspective of a European like me – it’s actually a global trend that’s shaking things up all around the world, creating interesting mixes. What I mean is that the scene is becoming even more colorful with people from different backgrounds who are approaching and creating the right cultural mix to make another step in terms of approach, process, and aesthetics.

Today, I want to present a designer duo from Taiwan, now located in Berlin, who are creating a beautiful design reality with a very sincere and recognizable approach. I’m talking about Yellow Nose Studio. Recently, they presented a beautiful collection during Milan Design Week: Indergarten, a monolithic wood furniture collection that emphasizes function, weight, and aesthetics from a very personal perspective.

To better understand how their research led them to this outcome, I reached out to them with some questions:

Why did you choose Berlin to set up your studio?

Yellow Nose Studio:

“We studied our masters here and during studying we decided to set up our own studio together.”

What was your first collection? Is there any particular reason why your research started there?

Yellow Nose Studio:

“N-01 Shadow Collection is our first one. We started to work on tableware first because that’s the fastest way to show our aesthetic to people in Berlin as we don’t have a connection at the beginning.”

How do you select the materials for your projects?

Yellow Nose Studio:

“We do wood and clay because these are the materials that both of us are familiar with.”

What do you want people to think when they see your products?

Yellow Nose Studio:

“We would like them to see the rawness yet elegant work we put into. 

How important is it to make your design pieces yourself?

Yellow Nose Studio:

“We are open now to have others support with the production of our design but we believe the first piece should come from us to show how we take care of every detail.”

What’s the role of design galleries in your workflow?

Yellow Nose Studio:

“To bring our work to the market where they think it suits.”

Do you think that living in Europe is culturally influencing your work?

Yellow Nose Studio:

“Yes, absolutely. The multicultural and diversity we encounter broaden our view and way of thinking.”