Objective Studies
Asca Studio’s Arête lighting collection and designer Sina Sohrab’s bench are part of new online platform Objective Studies’ first drop (image: courtesy of Objective Studies).
“Someone said to me that with the sales of [their] products, PayPal was making more money than they were, because the percentage PayPal took was higher than the royalties the designer received,” Matteo Fogale shares.
Determined to bring more equity to the design industry, Fogale, a furniture designer and creative director based between Copenhagen and London, have teamed up with e-commerce expert Lijana Norkaityte to found Objective Studies. The pair’s newly established digital platform is a marketplace that provides limited edition collections of furniture and objects, while also serving as a launching platform for new talent. “We’re not as polished as a gallery would be,” Norkaityte says, “but we’re also not as commercial and fast paced as a [typical] e-commerce website or online shop. We tried to hit something right in between.”
Designer Ted Synott’s aluminium bench is part of Objective Studies’ first drop (image: courtesy of Objective Studies).
Objective Studies plans to release specially curated collections of objects and furniture throughout the year at a more organic pace than alternative platforms. “We want to break this cycle of consumers and expectations, because we are trained as customers to shop like there's something new dropping every month,” Norkaityte explains. Instead of building a website housing numerous products spread over tens of pages, Objective Studies aims to break away from the fast-paced consumerism of other commercial sites. “We don’t have a schedule,” she says. “We're trying to keep it a bit more organic and more like a surprise.” The pair hope that releasing concentrated collections will reduce the time designers have to wait for their work to be purchased.
“There's no one single style or single theme across drops, but each drop will have a focus area, theme or material,” Norkaityte explains. Each drop also has the potential to alter the graphical presentation of Objective Studies’ website, which Fogale hopes will drive interest surrounding each release. The first collection includes a geometric lighting collection from Asca Studio, a female-founded design practice based in Copenhagen, whose forms bring a sense of calm into a room. It is showcased alongside Auckland-based designer Ted Synnott’s Pillar Table, an elegant wooden table that displays Synott meticulous joinery.
Designer Ted Synott’s wooden Pillar Table.
“The other side of it is being the trusted platform,” Fogale notes. “As our name [Objective Studies] says, we're trying to actually to do the research and the hard work behind the scenes to select extremely good quality, well-crafted products that haven't been compromised by time or a lack of resources.” Fogale and Norkaityte understand the impact that a lack of funding can have on designers and, by covering the costs of photography and marketing, Objective Studies aims to provide designers with more time to invest in creating high quality work and furthering their careers.
Faced with the cost of living crisis, rising costs of materials and risk-averse retailers, many designers’ career progression has been stunted. “People don’t want to pay design fees, so it’s becoming really hard for independent designers,” Fogale says. “If you don’t have the means to support yourself it’s a real struggle, and I don't think we talk about it enough.” Fogale and Norkaityte explain that some designers don’t argue for higher fees because they are afraid of losing retail relationships or potential clients. “So you end up taking less than you should, and I think that’s not fair,” Fogale says. The pair believe the royalty system is outdated and often places designers at the bottom of the list, even though, as Fogale points out, “without them, there wouldn’t be a product.”
A geometric lamp from Asca Studio’s Arête lighting collection (image: courtesy of Objective Studies).
New designers also face challenges connecting with companies who have long-standing relationships with more established designers. Since Objective Studies relieves designers of the pressures of funding the post-production process by themselves, the platform hopes to bridge this gap. “I want to be open about the whole thing, and more equitable about allowing everyone to have the opportunity to produce work and show it, so you don't have to spend crazy amounts to show in a fair or to ship the product somewhere,” Fogale says.
Objective studies launched during Copenhagen’s Three days of Design, and it is still in its early stages of life. But Fogale and Norkaityte hope the platform will be an international site with a broad network of designers and connections to industry. They believe it is time to change the way the design industry treats new designers. “I think we need to turn things around a little bit,” Fogale says.
Words Ella North