Harry Parr Young

The process is mainly material driven. He experimented with rattan during  BA degree over 10 years ago as at the time this material had been neglected in a contemporary setting, even though it is extremely environmentally friendly. He was fascinated by its flexible properties which had defined the aesthetics of the furniture for so long, making the visual look tropical and over-complicated.

The outcome of the project was a stool with a simplified yet structural rattan frame using splice joints and triangulation in its structure, inspired by Scandinavian classics. This hadn’t been done before and won critical acclaim, though the design remained dormant from the market until böja was conceived.

böja design was created to ultimately show the culmination of experiments and ideas from research over the years since then. böja means bend in Swedish, which is the most celebrate property of rattan. We went to Indonesia to learn more about where this material comes from and how they traditionally process and work with it.

We partnered up with certified producers that shared our ethical goals and sustainable objective. This year we launched böja’s first collection, the Splice range, is formed of contemporary rattan pieces that use the splice joint as the feature that binds the range together, showcasing the incredible craftsmanship and heritage of these makers. In the near future we’re looking to expand the range with different products as well as furniture.