Tim Webber grew up hanging out at his father’s plywood business, as well as making all manner of contraptions in the garage with his Poppa and Grandad. These were the perfect environments for dreaming up furniture designs, a fascination that took Tim from childhood to the highschool woodwork room, in which he crafted one particularly good coffee table that sat in the family lounge room for almost a decade! Then it was on to study a Bachelor of Design, where his ‘love for product and furniture design really took root’!
Tim launched his eponymous studio, Tim Webber Design (TWD) in 2011. ‘It wasn’t exactly clear after university that I would start a design studio and begin making product commercially, but I kept on designing and making and in a matter six months I had created my first full range of furniture,’ he reminisces.
The Auckland-based designer was over in Australia for Melbourne’s Denfair mid-year, where he launched fresh, new innovative designs. The range is all about bold forms, thoughtful details and connections, plus a sophisticated mix of materials. Take the Dowel Pendant with its customisable twin cable system, for example. The piece makes a strong statement but still feels delicate and considered.
Tim draws inspiration from anywhere and everywhere, be it the ‘beams and struts under a bridge’, ‘the small intricacies of patterns on a leaf’, or ‘sifting through old tools and jigs, or witnessing different manufacturing techniques’. That said, this collection, in particular, was inspired by a session sketching some old metal spinning tools. His penchant for walnut timber also comes through in the range. ‘It’s such a classic timber and has beautifully timeless qualities like it’s gestural grain, and I feel this lends the products to fit into both classic and contemporary spaces,’ Tim explains.
TWD designs are produced locally, for Tim it’s important that they have an origin, and manufacture utilises the pool of talented local artisans. ‘This, I believe, is what ultimately connects my furniture to my customers,’ he tells. An added bonus: it also allows for an array of size and material variants across the TWD range, as well as customisation.
Tim also gives us the insider-scoop: ‘Auckland is really maturing as a city at the moment with strong areas of community and collaboration being built. This is all complimented by a constant influx of quality workspaces, restaurants, bars and cafes that seem to pop up almost every week…being situated here gives me the opportunity to work on these exciting projects and be a small part of Auckland’s growth and development!’
Next up, Tim Webber Design will be expanding the Dowel Pendant range into a wall light and various clustered options, as well as releasing a commercial range of furniture for workspaces. Tim also has his sights set on building ties in the US and Europe. In Australia, TWD is currently represented by Cult, and you can check out their designs on display in Cult showrooms.
See more at Timwebberdesign.com.
