DESIGNER
Claste Collection
MATERIALS
Marble, Glass, Wood
Location
Montreal, QC
Type
Studio Visit
Contact
Discovering the innate beauty in materials is a mission often undertaken by designers, but few have succeeded in the manner Quinlan Osborne from Claste Collection has. Admittedly, the task is much simpler when taking into account the raw quality of the marble, glass, and wood employed. Nonetheless, stumbling across Quinlan’s work at Les Ateliers Courbet years ago was a formative experience in collectible design for us and a stepping stone in inspiring the genesis of Pale Blue.
Started in Montreal in 2017, the studio’s oeuvre has remained awe-inspiring and contradictory in its steady production of monolithic yet delicate furniture throughout the past seven years. Each piece, poetically titled, carries a sense of lyricism that somehow translates even stronger in person. Quinlan’s goal is to create furniture that forces the user to question their interactions and relationship to the form, to elicit a sense of unease from visual fragility and illusion. In this studio visit, we had the chance to speak with Quinlan in his studio and hear about the process behind these spectacles:
How does the Montreal design scene differ from those in Europe or America? In what ways does this affect your work?
I wouldn’t say that the design scene in Montreal is all that different than it is in Europe or the States these days. There are some issues with respect to access to technology and raw materials where Europe is more advanced in terms of their ability to produce marble works on 5-axis CNC machines or the manipulation of glass, but with respect to the idea that there is a design sensibility related to place, I think that we have the ability to tap into a global design culture in a manner that was not available even 20 years ago. So it really is up to the individual how much they want to engage and relate their own work to what is happening around the world and in other cultures.
Your pieces are notable for the selection of materials as well as the quality. What draws you to these raw materials in particular (marble, glass, plaster) and how do you source them?
I was initially attracted to marble and glass due to their historical use in architecture and I wanted to draw on their nobility as materials yet see how they could be manipulated into contemporary forms that while influenced by their history would be reinterpreted as something that was decidedly contemporary.
How do you go about researching new materials and methods? Are there any new materials or processes you plan to implement into your future work?
My work has up to this point been predominantly made from marble and glass but I am starting to explore other materials such as plaster, wood and also metal. Part of what will determine which materials become a regular part of my practice will be finding the right local artisans to work with as my ideas as a designer can only go so far without the right makers to help me produce the finished works. I am currently developing relationships with several exciting fabricators here in Montreal and hopefully these relationships will lead to some great new collections in the near future.
From designing to sourcing to finishing, could you describe the timeline/process of creating the How Fragile This Love piece? Were there particular challenges you faced the first time making this piece?
This was the first piece I developed with the idea of gluing marble directly to glass. In my research I had been unable to find anyone who had done this previously at the time so it required a certain amount of research into the right type of glue and curing process but also certified testing to meet industry standards for strength, safety etc. It was very important to me that the slab of marble really floated between the panes of glass so I wanted to make sure it could be achieved without any additional structure or hidden brackets. I wanted the tension created by the appearance of fragility to be part of the experience someone would have before they sat in the chair for the first time. This moment of tension or hesitation informs the experience and is something that is not part of the normal act of sitting. In architecture this exists as a transitional space or threshold that is a tool used to condition the user for the next experience or space and I was curious how that could be incorporated into the design of a chair and if it would affect the user in a similar manner.
Could you describe the process of creating the And Here I Sit pieces? Were there particular challenges you faced the first time making this piece?
This chair was the first piece I designed for my collection. I had a desire to create a piece that simultaneously felt grounded and permanent yet also unstable and precarious. The piece is meant to reveal itself as you move around it as from certain angles it appears to cantilever the seat plane from a single leg yet from others appear as a solid, heavy marble object. I have always been fascinated in how certain personalities can coexist at the same time within a person and have tried to embed into my work the same aspect of multiple meanings or interpretations.
Design is often about creating a dialogue with their users. What questions are you asking your audience with your furniture and how would you describe your relationship with them?
I would hope that people find a level of engagement with my work that is different from how they normally engage with furniture. It is obvious that I am not designing standard pieces that would be used in a conventional way but perhaps the experience they have with my work will have an influence on their everyday relationship with other pieces in their home or environment.
Lastly, could you give us a preview on what we can expect from you in the coming months?
I don’t always know what comes next, I like to surprise myself sometimes so while I have a few things on the go I am not sure what will be released and what will stay simmering in the background. Part of what I love most about what I do is the exploration and development phase and as a result I think I like to hold on to these ideas for as long as possible because once they are released something gets lost, almost like they no longer belong to me.
