Three Layer Cake

Interview with…

Who: Garth Roberts
When:  19 January 2007, about 9:30am
Where:  Kölnmesse – imm-Cologne

About Garth:  Born in Toronto, studied there, too.  He was a bike courier before he got his first gig in a design studio.  He has worked in prestigious studios in quite a few countries, and today has bases in Berlin, Milan, and New York.  Although he claims to not be too much of a foodie and that he only eats to survive, he somehow does know quite a bit about cooking, and if faced with a choice between apfelstrüdel in Cologne or pain aux amandes in Paris, he’ll choose the latter.  In just a few weeks, garth will begin working from his first pop-up office in Milan, part of his ‘Adhoc’ project done in collaboration with a few giant global corporations who really like his ideas...to know which ones (ideas and corporations), just stay tuned.  Over the next months, look for garth at Salone del Mobile and ICFF.  A special note for all you collectors of modern design pieces:  there is a prototype of garth's Raw  table floating around New York somewhere.  A client "borrowed" it a few years ago and just "forgot" to ever give it back.

What would you like for your contribution to the field of design to be?  What would the introduction to the Garth Roberts chapter to say?  I would probably like the chapter to open with a quote from Jay Z, “Far from a Harvard student, just had the balls to do it…” (Laugh) 

Seriously though, I would like my contribution to design to be more than my objects and projects. I would like to be known for my philosophy that the idea behind a project is more important than its physicality or final form.

So it’s just the intention of a good project that you think should count?  Don’t they say the road to hell is paved with good intentions?  I guess I could be more precise—  Within a project my goal is to identify the essentials of a good solution and then use these elements to highlight a dynamic tension which exists naturally between the object and the context in which they are used.  Is that better?  (Laugh) 

From a thesis on digital photography systems to branding and interiors to high-end design.  Why did you make this transition?  I have always desired to produce ‘cross disciplinary’ design work.  To me this means being able to design in a variety of disciplines applying the same aesthetic philosophy. This is why I left Canada for the Big Apple and then jumped the pond for the European design scene. Along the way, I was also lucky to have met individuals who believed in my work and were gracious enough to offer encouragement and support for my ambition. (PS Table for Fasem)

Which of your experiences (professional and/or personal) has had the most influence on the development of your design abilities?  On your personal style?  My personal style is definitely eclectic and diverse. My tastes range from high-end to urban street trends. The primary factor that contributed to this eclecticism was definitely Canada itself and my upbringing as a first generation Canadian— both are extremely open to cultural and social diversity. 

The next big influence was living in New York, a place where you learn to keep your own identity while absorbing and processing the large amounts of input that you’re exposed to.

The influences on my design I must credit to having had the opportunity to work for three world-class designers.

Your first full-time job with Canadian designer Jonathan Crinion hooked you on furniture.  But then you went to New York to design, and you’ve worked in Milan with the greats, and have spent time in Berlin.  How much of Canada is left in your imprint?  I’m still very early in my design career, but if we can talk about my ‘imprint’, I’d say the “Canadiana” in my work is not what you might classify as an ‘imprint’ in the typical design sense.  From a design perspective, the advantage of being Canadian is that we have a fairly moot product design culture. (I know I’ll probably lose my citizenship for this and I would love to be proven wrong but I must say that for now this is more than evident...isn’t it??!). The benefit of this is that I didn’t have to deal with any potential conflicts between a strong national tradition and my own personal style, it was a kind of carte blanche for how to view and develop my work and style.  So Canada is in my work, and it’s not… 

In an interview in the Fall 2006 New York Times Style Magazine Design special, Nanda Vigo made the following statement:  “Young designers copy me all of the time.  They don’t want to study what’s happened before them.  I know because I teach.”  As a designer who has won several competitions and has worked across several continents, and particularly given your work interviewing students and setting up the Ad-Hoc pop-up studio at the Politecnico in Milan, what’s your gut reaction to a statement like that?  I am not so familiar with Nanda Vigo’s work so I can’t comment specifically on her experiences with plagiarism.  But I’ve noticed that when a student is taught based on methodology and dogma that is firmly rooted in the past, regurgitation is inevitable.  I think that design, until recently, has been taught by method and technique and not critical thinking, but it’s only through novel ways of thinking that creativity can break free from the past.  If this innovation isn’t cultivated in the educational process of design, then you’ll rarely see new thoughts or expressions.  So I guess my gut reaction to a comment like this could be ‘you reap what you sew’.  (Detail of Fasem table)

What obligations, if any, do you think designers have to the design field?  To its clients?  As a designer I feel an obligation to deliver to the field and my clients, and end consumers of course, something that is substantial. I obviously can’t guarantee a life altering experience but I try to deliver design that will make a positive difference in the way we live. I also try to make this go beyond the surface, beyond the initial titillation.

Which of your strengths has most contributed to your rising success as a designer?  As a businessman?  I always try to push myself to realize the next step in the development of my work,  I really enjoy the feeling of a personal challenge, of doing something that makes me say ‘what side of my subconscious is this, did this come from me?’ 

In terms of business, I think the mindset that ‘anything can be done, It’s just to find the way’ is something that has enabled me to overcome some things that would be stumbling blocks for most.  This attitude will probably be my hamartia, but what can you do? 

Describe the interior you envisioned when you designed your Raw table, now in production for Zanotta.  (feigning offense) I didn’t make the ‘Raw’ table for an environment or interior!  (laugh)

OK, then just tell me Raw’s story.  It was chosen by Elle Decoration France for an Interior Design Award, right?  Yes.  The original context of the piece was an exhibit entitled humane in which I tried to make a connection between the objects and the individual through shared characteristics. I wanted the table to communicate with a person on a physical level— being natural, showing signs of origin but, still very much transformed into a modern object.  I wanted the table to readily record a history charting the relationship between the owner and the piece .  So its informal finish encourages casual interaction and over time, signs of this ’dialogue’ should be physically evident in the table through the odd stain, the wearing of the surface, kind of like the wrinkles and imperfections which come with human aging.  This property, this idea, or maybe the relationship between owner and table is something special that goes beyond the environment or interior in which it is placed.  I hope each table lives in multiple interiors and has many owners before finishing its course. (Above and below:  Raw table by Zanotta)

Time Capsule:  Which three objects (design icons or your own products, anything) would you put into a time capsule today that say the most about you and the times we live in?  Some type of edible nut…like a peanut, or an almond, something that you can readily consume now or plant to receive greater benefits in the future. I would use this as a simile of the times and the choices we have to make about present consumption, versus investing in the future of humanity. 

the next would be a solar calculator. These days people tend to focus on our need for oil but down play the dangers of societies increasing dependence on electricity.  I think that the solar calculator could be likened to a message from the past that shed light on some huge problems that might come up in the future…or maybe I’d put this one in just because I’m a nerd at heart! 

The last would be a small, very delicate and lovingly crafted Japanese cast iron teapot _ the result of a simple craftsman who could achieve great beauty using simple materials, rudimentary means but through experience, diligence and skill, overcome these factors to produce something that is quite refined and delicate. 

What motivates you?
Right now my mindset is to work like crazy…like my life depends on it.  My motivation for all this is very personal and comes from knowing that many people before me have done quite a bit with very little. So as an act of respect for those who worked liked crazy and gave their all to provide me with the opportunities I’ve had, I put my all into everything I do.  I try not just to talk about things … I try to do them.

What food or dessert best describes your design style?  What was it five years ago?  What would you like for it to be in five years?  Though it is not my favorite dessert, Crème Brulee.  It’s not extravagant and really relies on the exact preparation of its few ingredients and the final touches to make it classic and enjoyable. 

Five years ago…I would say that my design was more like a cheesecake…a bit less sophisticated and a more extravagant dessert than Crème Brulee but still with some similarities in its essence. 

In five years I would still like to be able to use simple means to make great things. Maybe by then I will have mastered the soufflé; a very delicate flexible dessert with great tension and subtle taste… (Above, Classicon stand, 2006)

The first thing you notice in a restaurant.
Probably how clean it is.  I am a food hygiene freak so cleanliness is next to godliness for me.  Then I notice the physical menus.  I will never eat in a place that has tattered menus.  I feel, at minimum, a restaurant should take pride in this detail of its presentation.  (Below, Reminisce place mats and table runner by Group Inc.)

Eating what food brings back the best memories?
I am not much of a foodie (though you couldn’t tell by my crème brulee explanation can you?) but I do enjoy pancakes and sausages…If I get a nice portion with some maple syrup almost immediately I am whisked off to a place of past pleasures and there remain to enjoy the sugar high of the maple syrup.

 
What has been your favorite flea market find. Where is it now?
A few summers ago in Berlin I found a complete ceramic tea set from Rosenthal which is now discontinued. I have honestly become a junky for the markets in Berlin. You find the most interesting things there that seemed to have just come out of a time capsule closed 40 years ago…the honesty about these markets is also refreshing. The vendors seem to appreciate the ‘object’ for exactly what it is …useful, not useful, and aren’t too much into inflating the value of things based on image.…I say embarrassingly that the tea set is now in my attic in Milan…( with two other tea sets) 

The last piece of furniture you bought for your home?
I haven’t bought furniture in a while and I try not to buy too much of it  (I am a bit of Spartan) …I suppose I find it very inspiring to be in an environment that has voids in this respect. If I were to buy something I would say that the hat trick chair by Frank Gehry would be it. For me his furniture is really paradigm shifting. 

No home is complete without…
Memories.  I know this is an ambiguous answer, but it’s as simple as a postcard, a gift from an old girlfriend or your dad’s cufflinks, they aren’t functional really, but they link your past and present in a very personal way. I think you need these types of items to make a home ‘honest’.  The cool and trendy design objects only serve as eye candy.

Celebrity you’re inexplicably intrigued by.
It would be a tie between the boxer Jack Johnson and singer Paul Robeson.

You’ll always pick up the magazine if __________________ is on the cover.
Tough one to admit but, I would say a shiny coating… I like shiny things.

When you travel, you always bring with you…My cell phone.  It’s like a ritual for me to switch the SIM card somewhere between touch down and baggage claim.  It’s like a symbolic way of saying to myself…”I am now in…(whatever city)”