AFTEROOM, Depth in the purest form
I
There is an Asian design duo often encountered these days in the renowned design brands of Nordic Europe and the United States. The name is Afteroom. Their design is classical as you might have seen anywhere, but it’s pure sensibility makes it refreshed. The reason it draws your attention is its depth and grace that never gets tired no matter how many times you look at it.
'Afteroom Dining Chair,' the first collaboration with Menu ©Audo
The Afterroom was founded by Hung-Ming Chen and Chen-Yen Wei, who were born in Taiwan and moved to Stockholm in 2006. They are a married couple and also partners. The original plan was that they would return home together after Hung-Ming Chen completed his design studies at Konstfack, but the plan was revised and Afteroom began in 2011.
The ‘Afteroom Dining Chair’ has a simple yet clear presence, Menu ©Audo
Afteroom's founders, Hung-Ming Chen and Chen-Yen Wei. Photo by Mario Depicolzuane
The design team works with and is loved by Danish brand Menu (now Audo), representing contemporary Nordic design, Design Within Reach (DWR) and Herman Miller, the most famous American furniture brand and its subsidiary, having launched even more design items than ever during the pandemic. As revealed in Kinfolk, they are living a simple and creative life. We met this couple and found them as thoughtful and careful as their own designs through email.
The name, Afteroom, seems simple, yet gives a lasting impression. Could you explain the meaning of your studio name “Afteroom”?
Afteroom: We value the relationship between time and space, so we create the word ‘’Afteroom’’ which is interpreted as the transformation while a space experienced a long period of time. We aim to create something people won’t get tired of, something you’d like to keep for now and also for your next generation. We think life is short, so we have to fulfill what we really want to do; this concept matches our personalities deeply. Every time we start a new project, we’ll examine it with each other first, and see if it’s worth keeping going.
Your company was established in 2011. Could you explain how it was at the beginning?
You’re right, we started Afteroom in the middle of 2011. In the beginning, we wanted to produce products by ourselves, so we contacted furniture factories, tea farms, bicycle OEM companies, and clothes factories to make our own design products. Anyhow, we've eventually managed to finish prototypes and produced some amount for our first product line. It was an exciting and fun time, all we wanted to do is simply give our ideas a try, so we just did it without any hesitation.
In 2013, we showed our works in the Stockholm Furniture Fair in order to check the market reaction. That was also the first time we met Danish brand Menu (now Audo). They seem to like our work and are interested in collaboration with us, so it’s an opportunity to motivate us to start working with Menu. Few years later, we gradually shifted our focus mainly on design services. Now the Afteroom furniture series has been one of the top sellers of Menu, and we’re expanding our design collaboration with other nice clients as well.
'Afterroom Dining Chair Plus' improves comfort by removing unnecessary elements and widening the backrest. ©Audo
I would like to talk about the ‘After Room Chair’, which received full attention from the media, such as winning the Best Furniture Award in 2014 by the Swedish Residence magazine and being considered as the Rising Star of Elle Decoration in 2015. Since it was launched on Menu in 2012, it is still very popular. More impressively, it was the first chair design presented at Menu.
A: We met the Menu team by the time they’re working on rebranding - by transforming from a tableware/kitchenware company to a design furniture brand. Their long term collaborated design team - Norm Architects was also the design director by then. Perhaps because they have always advocated minimalism, Afteroom Chair immediately caught their attention during Stockholm Furniture Fair in 2013, and it was launched in 2014 by Menu. Ever since then, it has become quite popular and the Afteroom family series has been rolling out a few years later.
You mentioned teamwork with Norm Architects in your acceptance speech at the time, did you mean the collaboration at that time?
Yes. At that time, I was very lucky to have met Nom Architects. I met someone who understood our work at the decisive moment, and that was Norm architects.
You’ve been doing so well pursuing the value of “simplicity,” “elegance,” and “timelessness.” In fact, those are so abstract and subtle. Aren’t they? I’m wondering how you can manage to make something new and fresh every time with these abstract doctrines.
Maybe it just shows an abstract feeling in the narrative. When a design becomes a product, it may have an eye-catching minimalist image, but people might ignore its internal structure. Sometimes a seemingly simple shape actually has deep thinking inside. We usually start from the inner constructions, and the design naturally came up to the shape as it should be.
'Levitate' pendant lamp gives the feeling of elegantly floating in the air. ©Audo
II
The studio in the afterroom is a 3-minute walk from the homes of Hung-Ming Chen and Chen Yan Wei. It is situated in the same premises of Konstfack University in Telefonplan, famous for its design, southern Stockholm. The area was the headquarters of the Swedish telecommunication equipment manufacturer Ericsson in the 1940's, which purchased the entire expansive site for the manufacture of its products and was used as its headquarters until 2000. Several construction projects have taken place in recent years, making it a popular residence for young couples and families. Chen Yan Wei likes the peaceful atmosphere and urban vitality that coexist here. In their spare time, they visit the library of Konstpark University to research interesting topics and find new inspiration through photography and painting. Their little daughter is also a source of inspiration. There were also many questions about their lives in Stockholm.
Afterroom’s studio is located in Stockholm’s Konstpark university district, which is popular with young people. Photo by Mario Depicolzuane
I learned that you are often inspired by the design or method of Bauhaus and Modernist designers and got a feeling that you like to produce a new thing sometimes by “redesigning” the old design. I especially got that feeling when I saw your Story Bookcase, and Afteroom Coat Hanger. Do you agree with this “redesigning” idea? If so, please share your thoughts on the virtue of redesigning or revisiting.
It might be interpreted as redesign, but if we see design as a kind of music, it may be easier to understand the evolutionary relationship between similarities. There are different genres of music, for example, jazz. Many musicians who create new jazz music every day don’t make people tired of. Some designs are seemingly similar, but they can still have their own individualities. Such as the Story bookcase you mentioned compared to other vertical bookcases. However, actually it is one category of bookshelf which has a high market demand, and if you have a chance to look into it closely, its inner structure we created is absolutely unique. Many seemingly simple things literally are not simple at all, there are lots of details worth discovering.
‘Afteroom Coat Hanger’ that attracts attention with its sharp sense of proportion. Menu.
'Afteroom Plywood Dining Chair' for Menu
Actually, I’m even wondering how all the Scandinavian designers can do this (making something new) out of seemingly the same philosophy. If it’s not rude, could you explain your thoughts on it?
As mentioned earlier, if you see Scandinavia design as one kind of music, such as Jazz, it would be easier to understand. There are many musicians who create new jazz music every day and still have their own style. However, we think it is hard nowadays to define what Scandinavia design is as the boundary is very blurry. People may be fastened in the stereotype when thinking about Scandinavia design, for example, it would automatically relate to some sort of simplitism or minimalism, but actually it is just one genre of design here and doesn't limit in Scandinavia. Instead, a similar style exists everywhere in the world.
For us, Scandinavian designs are very diverse, you can find something quiet, meanwhile there are many bold and unique designs full of surprises. However, we aren't really concerned about the design philosophy or styles because there is no right or wrong answer to it. We just follow our heart, focusing on what we like - something never gets old and there are always new things you can explore.
Afteroom Plywood Dining Chair in dark stained oak version, Menu
Details of Afteroom Plywood Dining Chair, Menu
You mentioned that “Being parents has given us consideration of the human relationship between time and objects. Both of us love timeless things.” I agree that your design is timeless elegance, and I’m wondering how this idea works in the process of designing.
In every design project, we always try our best to realize our core mindset into it - creating beautiful products that will add value over time; design to grow old with. During our working process, we repeatedly think and review drawings together. If both of us like the direction without hesitations, then it usually works well. However, each design has its realistic aspect, which must go through several adjustments with our client in order to find a good balance between production and the market demand.
In the process of designing, we have simple rules to keep in mind. Chen-Yen is the art director and Hung-Ming works on idea visualization and CAD drawings. So basically, Chen-Yen decides whether the direction is good to be going on or makes some modifications during the idea-developing phase. Meanwhile, Hung-Ming needs to find good solutions for production. Sometimes the process of finding the common ground will take some time, but once we overcome it, everything will become smoother.
Last question, what is the most beneficial thing running a design studio in Stockholm based on your experience?
Over time, we gradually get used to this slow life-pace in Stockholm and find out we have more time to precipitate our minds and ideas. But actually, it can be anywhere, as long as our family can be together. The best destination is where you can be with your beloved ones. If we talk about the greatest benefit of working in our own independent design studio, we’d say ‘’freedom.’’ We can do our own research on a subject which we're really interested in. Usually, if we dig something deep enough, we can always find a new direction to try something unexpected.
-
Words by J.M. - Courtesy Afteroom - Originally published at Naver’s design blog in 2021