Santa Barbara, California, orlandopippig.com
California newcomer Orlando Pippig designs steely, streamlined furniture and lighting with strikingly linear forms, exclusively in natural materials like metal, glass, and wood. He takes inspiration from Japanese architecture and the Light + Space movement — the kind of minimalism where beauty is found in subtle details and in how a piece can define and heighten our experience of a space. You can source Pippig’s works through our Sight Unseen Collection.

What is American design to you, and what excites you about it?

American design to me is freedom. America doesn’t hold the lengthy history that many other continents/countries do, or a single popular style that the country is known for, which gives us the freedom to pick and pull inspiration from many sources and reinterpret it into something new. Historically, people have come to America for this freedom and with it they bring new concepts. I can immediately think of a handful of German architects who came to America during the 30s and brought with them some of the most exciting architecture concepts of the 20th century: Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, Walter Gropius, etc. This certainly excites me because it shows the American people are open to experimentation and seeking out what’s new. As a designer, this is largely the way I think — constantly looking to experiment and find new and exciting ways to work and produce.

What are your plans and highlights for the upcoming year? 

For the upcoming year, I will be focusing on two new ways of working: One is unveiling a handful of lighting designs that I have been working on for the last few months. This has been an exciting challenge vs furniture design as lighting has intricate components that all need to work together to function properly. The second is: I will be focusing on producing a new line of furniture designs, all of which will revolve around a single concept and a small selection of materials. Up until now I’ve been producing singular designs as I think of them, which has been great for experimentation with different forms or materials. However, I’m excited to be working in a new way by focusing on a specific element and finding ways to use it in a larger sense.

What inspires or informs your work in general?

Lately I’ve been inspired by a new fabrication technique that I’ve figured out. Taking cues from my previous life in the wood shop and solid wood joinery as a whole, this new technique essentially mimics the tried and true mortise and tenon wood joint by utilizing laser cut metal parts with matching tabs/holes that are welded together in a seamless manner. This discovery has opened up a wealth of ideas for new forms. Often this is how I create new products: finding a specific manufacturing process and then exhausting the ideas that come from using that technique.