IN CONVERSATION WITH CHRISTOPHER DUFFY

Synonymous with the quirky and the eccentric, Christopher Duffy’s work is inspired by concepts of gravity, illusion, and geometry. The designer’s brainchild, Duffy London Design Studio boasts furniture wizardry with designs exceptional enough to make one’s jaw drop.

The House Of Things had the honour of curating some pieces from the design virtuoso. But what inspiration lies behind his designs? We chatted with Duffy about his design process, the method behind his madness, and just what makes Duffy London the hippest furniture brand in town.

Q.1 Each of your designs seems to challenge the concepts of gravity and illusion. What does your design process entail?

When considering the ‘design process’ it always starts with the particular illusion or visual effect that we are trying to achieve. We want to make something that we find exciting and that will excite others.
Once we have a visual that explains the concept or idea, we then decide which piece to best adapt it to and our work progresses from here in terms of choosing materials and manufacturing techniques.

Q.2 How has furniture design changed over the years? Even more so, how will it change during this unprecedented time?

Of course, we at Duffy London cannot speak for everything however fifty years ago, a chair was very much a chair…
Pieces were all about their very function first and foremost. Nowadays, with widespread coverage due to the internet and social media it’s seemingly no longer good enough, and the works that gain the most traction tend to be pieces that are more emotive, prompting reactions and indeed interactions from their users.
Nowadays you can design beautiful pieces that work perfectly and yet if nobody is talking about them, they can be considered a failure in some respects (including commercially)

Q.3 Form follows function. Do you agree?

In many cases yes it does and some of the very best furniture design has a pure and honest visual language that speaks to the purpose of the item. At the same time, it can be said that it’s not always enough, now, to stand out and be noticed.

Q.4 When and how do you think of the materials you are going to use for a particular design. Your favourite materials are…

At Duffy London, the materials actually come last, at the very end of the design process following a full visualisation using 3D rendering. Our works are ideas-based and materials are simply a means to help us convey the illusion or particular idea which we are working on.
That said, the materials do serve a purpose and we only work with the best mediums including Italian marble, Stainless Steel, Polished Brass and Walnut & Oak sourced from eco-friendly Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) maintained forests.
All of our designs are built to last and while the materials aren’t first and foremost in our thinking at the beginning of the design process, it’s our intention to build pieces that will stand the test of time.

Q.5 ‘London’ is included in your brand’s name? How much do you draw from the city?

London really is everything to me and to Duffy London. I was born in East London, grew up here, and my family on both sides goes back some five generations. Our studio today is even situated within minutes of where my family first put own roots. I live very close to the River Thames and draw my energy from the river as much as the City.
London is truly a city of the world with every culture living here and contributing to it, so there is so much to draw from and I like that. I’m not so much as from the UK as I am from London.

Q.6 Lastly, you have already created a stunning body of work with many mediums and styles. What would you like your legacy to be?

We design all of our pieces in the hope that they will still seen, and used long into the future. We try to create beautiful, exciting works our hope is that these ideas and the ways in which we have brought them to life will continue to excite others in the future.
As a design studio, we have always been conscious of environment impact - promoting eco-friendly, sustainable materials in our projects - and the set up encourages further work away from just furniture. We have worked on some exciting projects such as the Hari Pontoon; a sustainable solar-powered bamboo water-taxi with potential worldwide applictaion, which we are extremely proud of and hope to see realised in the not too distant future.
As the studio matures, it’s our intention to broaden our scope and to work on some larger municipal projects with environmentally friendly credentials.

SHOP WITH CHRIS DUFFY

The reigning star of modern furniture design – Christopher Duffy has a very distinctive style. Shop with the designer and discover his expert picks from our online gallery.

BROWSE THIS EDIT

Q.1 Each of your designs seems to challenge the concepts of gravity and illusion. What does your design process entail?

When considering the ‘design process’ it always starts with the particular illusion or visual effect that we are trying to achieve. We want to make something that we find exciting and that will excite others.
Once we have a visual that explains the concept or idea, we then decide which piece to best adapt it to and our work progresses from here in terms of choosing materials and manufacturing techniques.

Q.2 How has furniture design changed over the years? Even more so, how will it change during this unprecedented time?

Of course, we at Duffy London cannot speak for everything however fifty years ago, a chair was very much a chair…
Pieces were all about their very function first and foremost. Nowadays, with widespread coverage due to the internet and social media it’s seemingly no longer good enough, and the works that gain the most traction tend to be pieces that are more emotive, prompting reactions and indeed interactions from their users.
Nowadays you can design beautiful pieces that work perfectly and yet if nobody is talking about them, they can be considered a failure in some respects (including commercially)

Q.3 Form follows function. Do you agree?

Q.4 When and how do you think of the materials you are going to use for a particular design. Your favourite materials are…

Q.5 ‘London’ is included in your brand’s name? How much do you draw from the city?

London really is everything to me and to Duffy London. I was born in East London, grew up here, and my family on both sides goes back some five generations. Our studio today is even situated within minutes of where my family first put own roots. I live very close to the River Thames and draw my energy from the river as much as the City.
London is truly a city of the world with every culture living here and contributing to it, so there is so much to draw from and I like that. I’m not so much as from the UK as I am from London.

Q.6 Lastly, you have already created a stunning body of work with many mediums and styles. What would you like your legacy to be?

We design all of our pieces in the hope that they will still seen, and used long into the future. We try to create beautiful, exciting works our hope is that these ideas and the ways in which we have brought them to life will continue to excite others in the future.
As a design studio, we have always been conscious of environment impact - promoting eco-friendly, sustainable materials in our projects - and the set up encourages further work away from just furniture. We have worked on some exciting projects such as the Hari Pontoon; a sustainable solar-powered bamboo water-taxi with potential worldwide applictaion, which we are extremely proud of and hope to see realised in the not too distant future.
As the studio matures, it’s our intention to broaden our scope and to work on some larger municipal projects with environmentally friendly credentials.

SHOP WITH CHRIS DUFFY

The reigning star of modern furniture design – Christopher Duffy has a very distinctive style. Shop with the designer and discover his expert picks from our online gallery.

BROWSE THIS EDIT