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What I am doing is new and exciting - An interview with Tom Rossau

By Le Vin Chin

An interview with self-taught Danish designer Tom Rossau.

Tom Rossau’s collection of contemporary sculptural lamps in veneers builds on a long Scandinavian design tradition of wooden illuminants. Every lamp is carefully handcrafted and has the natural characteristics of its wood. We had the chance to see his collection at 100% Design and find out more about his work …

Your work has mainly been in creating lamps, how did that start?

I’m not sure here - this is usually where I start drawing a blank! I had opened my own shop where I was making and designing leather clothes and for that shop I needed lights, so I made my first lights. I suppose it came from a basic need which I wanted to satisfy myself. Also I didn’t like the idea of drilling holes into the walls etc. so I designed a light which was suspended between the floor and ceiling - it all went from there.

"TR 10 lamp © Tom Rossau"

In your website, you say the “core” is “design”. What's your design philosophy? Tequila! No seriously - I don’t have a philosophy as such - it’s more of a design flow which can start in two different ways. Either I find a piece of material which I start playing around with or a design comes to me as a development of something I am working on, a prototype for one light which leads me somewhere else altogether, or an idea I get from something I see. So I would say that ultimately it comes from playing - either with materials or ideas. Where do you get your design inspiration from? As I said above - it is very much influenced by the material and the particular characteristics it has - this leads to endless “playing” from which my designs are born.

You work exhibits a lot of geometric forms. What’s your design process?

As above - playing really. There is no specific process as such. Having said this we do produce everything in-house - by that rationale the process flows into the creation of the prototypes which gets me far into arranging the actual production. So in a sense the production side may also influence the final design as tweaks go back and forth.

"ST 902 / ST 901 lamp © Tom Rossau"

For a long time now, you've worked with wood veneers. Why wood, as a material?

In the early 2000s I was working mainly with plastic foil and found that it lacked a natural feel, feeling, a certain something. I wasn’t satisfied with it. So I started looking for a material that was flexible and could be worked with whilst also having a more “natural” feel to it. This is how I came across the birch veneers. The veneers themselves led me to play in different ways with the material hence new geometric shapes, new forms were born as a result of the characteristics of the material - namely its flexibility and strength.

"TR 6 lamp © Tom Rossau"

Your website also cites “a long Scandinavian design tradition” in the use of wood. Where do you see your place in this tradition?

There are two sides to this - the geometry of the designs which are more modern and therefore pushing - I feel - this tradition forwards - and then the wood in itself which has a ancient history as we know. So the material has been used for 1000s of years - not just in Scandinavia - and I’m simply finding new ways to play with it by creating the lights I do. Wooden lights per se have been done for about 50 years or more in Scandinavia I think - although I’m not too sure how far the history stretches. What’s sure is that I feel what I am doing is new and exciting and therefore not simply a new take on an old model but something quite new by itself.

"ST 903 lamp © Tom Rossau"

You’ve also moved into mirrored plastic films. Does the project choose the material, or do you choose the medium/material first?

Sometimes the material leads me places and other times I have a specific idea and so look for a material which is appropriate. With the mirrored plastic - I’ve used this on two existing designs (TR4 & TR5) which have already been done in wood - and decided to use the mirror foil to see what happened to an existing design when I something quite opposite - non-natural, no translucent aspect so no warmth from the light as you get with the veneers and quite “high-tech”. It was fun so see these designs come out looking so amazing - similar yet with a very different, more techno-modern touch.

How do you choose your materials? Dunno what to answer on this one - just trial and error I guess. How do you choose the visual surface effects you use?  Where do you find the idea for these effects to begin with? Depending on the project - we work together with interior architects and designers when we need to and sometimes they come up with specific suggestions and/or I do. The standard range is based simply on what I think looks great.

"TR 4 lamp © Tom Rossau"

Which new visual effect will be seen a lot more in the future?

I don’t know - I’m just going to concentrate on what I like creating and working together with others on specific projects. Having said this I believe anything which enhances, emphasizes the organic, sustainable side of design will become more and more popular.

"TR 9 lamp © Tom Rossau"

How do you choose the colors you work with? Which color most inspires you right now?

Choosing the colors really depends on what I am trying to achieve - what I’m inspired by is the material itself - i.e. the wood inspires deeper colors such as dark browns, burgundy reds and of course the natural color - whilst working with aluminum - I love the colors that can be accomplished when anodizing aluminum.

All your pieces are handmade in Denmark. How important is that to you?

This is very important in order to maintain the quality and also because the design process is very much inter-connected with the production - I just like to keep it all close!

"TR 10 lamp © Tom Rossau"

Do you design with the Danish market in mind? Not particularly, no. Having said that the lights are doing very well over here. Do you see a difference between local and global trends in design? What are the local trends in Denmark? What are the global trends? I don’t really see a big difference here. One of the advantages out of designing from such a country as Denmark which is renowned for design is that we have a tendency to be seen as setting trends rather then catching-up. Holland is also doing very well on the design front. Above all, as I’ve said, design is moving in new directions with sustainability and low-impact, therefore young designers from all over the world are making their mark today.

What are you working on right now?

Come to Cologne in January and check it out for yourself!

You will be introducing a range of furniture soon – how did that start and how is it developing?

It’s coming along rather slowly as I’m working in two different types of furniture - one being more exclusive, wilder and probably one-off pieces, and the other being the set-up of a line of furniture which is more easily accessible and caters more towards the very real need we have of easily sustainable solutions in today’s world.

"TR 5 lamp © Tom Rossau"

What's your dream future project?

That’s a really good question! I don’t really answer it because I have so many - if I’m just designing and not being involved in the practical side of production then at the end of any given day I will have 20 dream projects lined up!

"TR 11 lamp © Tom Rossau"