Hello Tom and Will, thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Your 19 Outdoors collection launched just in time for the start of the outdoor season. Can you tell us what the number 19 is all about?
Will: Of course! The 19 Outdoors collection is a continuation of our 19 Chairs project, which we started during the first COVID-19 lockdown – and there you have it: the number 19 comes from COVID-19. The collection also goes back to 19 different chair designs, which were interpreted and developed further by 19 different designers and artists.
That sounds exciting. How exactly did it come about?
Tom: The 19 chairs happened by chance. We were both living in our family home in south London in the UK at the time. I'd been furloughed from work and Will was about to finish university. That was during the strict lockdown. Since we had a lot of time and wanted to do something creative, I decided on the spur of the moment to build a collection of chairs. After yet another day in isolation and many chairs later, Will finally asked me what I was going to do with all of them. That's when the idea for 19 Chairs was born.
Why did you choose chairs rather than any other piece of furniture?
Will: We simply have a soft spot for chairs and appreciate how versatile they are. Chairs were also something we got to know very well during the pandemic – after all, we had to spend a lot of time at home. At the same time, a chair is a comparatively simple piece of furniture, and Tom thought he could build one in the garden with the basic tools from the shed.
What materials were the prototypes made from, and how did they develop?
Tom: With all the shops closed, there weren't many alternatives. We wanted to choose one material and test how many different shapes we could make with it. So we settled on 27 mm timber battens and wood screws.
How did 19 other artists and designers come to be involved?
Will: We chose the contributors very carefully. It was important to us to include people who had inspired us across every area of the creative world. Among them were furniture and fashion designers, set designers, photographers, illustrators and even a comedian!
When you got the chairs back from the contributors, one was covered in sweets, another in fur and another decorated with modelling clay. Which chair was your personal favourite?
Tom: The chairs came back gradually, one after the other, over several months. Unpacking the reinterpreted chairs was the most rewarding part of the project for us. We were amazed at how much effort and creativity each person had put into reworking their chair.
Every piece is one of a kind and tells a different story. Together they form an incredible family of chairs, so choosing a favourite is impossible. But a few pieces we particularly like are the ones by Emma Brewin, Benjamin Edgar, Isabel + Helen, Es Devlin and Jean Jullien.
And which interpretation surprised you most?
Will: That's easy. Photographer Henry Gorse's Werther's Original massage chair. It was the first piece we got back. When we unpacked it, we were thunderstruck - we couldn't believe it! The amount of imagination and work that had gone into transforming the chair was incredible. Unfortunately, it soon turned into a sticky mess (laughs), but at least the photos are perfect!
What kind of design do you admire? Which influences might also be visible in 19 Outdoors?
Tom: We're inspired by designers every day, and the list keeps getting longer. To name just a few whose work we especially love at the moment: Soft Baroque, Marco Campardo and Vero International.
Which of the chair designs is closest to the 19 Outdoors collection you've launched?
Will: We incorporated some distinctive design features inspired by the original 19 Chairs collection into the NINE19 Outdoors collection. The dining chair, for example, is closest to chair 10 by Sabine Marcelis, and the stacking chair is particularly inspired by chair 11 by Jean Jullien. The benches, the lounge chair and the stool combine elements of other chairs from the original collection.
What about your professional backgrounds: have you always worked in design?
Tom: Yes, actually. I studied product design and Will studied graphic design. Our parents have a design background too: our father is an interior designer and our mother works in home textiles. I think you could say design is in our blood!
What makes working together as brothers special for you?
Will: We certainly have our differences, but by and large we're on the same page. I think those differences can even be a good thing. It's healthy to challenge each other sometimes and to disagree on certain things. The best part is that we get to work together as brothers. And we're both looking forward to what's still to come!
Thank you, Will and Tom, for this fascinating insight – and continued success.
