Douglas and Bec Arch Collection

The New Douglas & Bec Collection is a Study in Modern Glam

As of this year, Bec Dowie and her father, Douglas Snelling — founders of the New Zealand–based design studio, Douglas and Bec — have been in business for a decade. To commemorate the occasion, they’re releasing a brand-new collection of furniture and lighting that pays homage to traditions nearly a century old. The collection, which the pair call ARCH, takes its cues from the 1920s and ’30s, an era when furniture — an oft-used vanity, say, or a favorite chair — was more deeply embedded in the key moments of one’s everyday. (Additional influences include the Modernist French designer Charlotte Perriand and old Parisian brasseries.) But despite its nostalgic tinge, ARCH exhibits the same clean lines, natural materials, and playful, pared-down aesthetic that have long defined the duo. (Remember Dowie’s own showcase of the brand in her epic, rural New Zealand home?)

Staying true to the company’s close family ties, ARCH’s expressive color palette—which includes gold, black, and “duck-egg blue”—comes courtesy of an ocean-themed painting by Dowie’s great-aunt, Helen Brown. Standouts include the Arch Vanity, with brass feet and hand-turned legs; the Arch Cane Chair, made of rattan and steam-bent American ash; and a trio of Arch Pendant lights, a meticulous study in understated glamour. See the collection for yourself online, or at either of Douglas and Bec’s Auckland or Melbourne showrooms (the latter of which will relocate to a newly designed space in September—stay tuned!)

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