Q&A with Kwaku

My name is Kwaku, I'm a British product designer based in London. My fascination with popular culture and architecture has inspired many of my designs. From a very young age my parents took me from London to live in the Caribbean where I would spend most of my childhood exploring nature. For this reason I feel a responsibility to the environment to design products that do not have a negative impact on its biodiversity, using eco friendly materials and manufacturing processes.

Kwaku

From a young age I took a liking to art and engineering often taking apart my new electronic toys and rebuilding new ones which my parents were not very happy about of course… My family was very involved in the Caribbean art community, often curating and hosting art and design festivals in Trinidad. Names like Peter Doig, Leroy Clarke and Chris Ofili became very familiar to me. At the age of 17 I returned to London and was introduced to product design at college. This empowered me to bring my Ideas to life through my love of interiors.

Kwaku

My design practice is called Triqis. My studio is based in Wimbledon, London. It consists of myself and Erwan Louis Le Bozec, a French Icelandic product designer who I met at university. Triqis is a homeware brand. We design and manufacture unique interior objects, using product design technology such as 3D printing to push the boundaries of traditional mould making and design craft.

Kwaku

Through my designs I aim to push the boundaries of traditional design craft, inspiring others with new and exciting products. I aspire to be part of the next generation of designers to put British homeware design back at the forefront of the industry. I want Triqis to become a household name within homeware design and manufacturing.

Kwaku

My favourite designs so far are the Silo Lamp and Pilarch candle holder. The Silo Lamp is a minimal lamp with a sculpture-like appearance. Its playful character is a figment of my imagination. My fascination with silhouette illustrations often seen on public signs is what inspired this design. The Pilarch candle holder - Its sculpted form embodies the chiseling and hammering of the stone sculpture, noticeable by the emerging pillar from the gradual stone cutaway. The Pilarch candle holder is inspired by the Roman baths in the city of Bath, Somerset England.

Kwaku

My three all-time favourite pieces of product design are, the Club chair (model B3) also known as the Wassily chair by Marcel Breuer, Alvar Aalto’s armchair 41 and Eero Aarnio’s Pony chair.

Kwaku

I really enjoyed the Charlotte Perriand Preview day, so much that I went to the exhibition 3 times after. I saw some designs that I did not even know were hers. The exhibition overall was a great source of inspiration to me, seeing her design thinking and process as well as how she created modular installations and products to utilise the space she was designing for.

Kwaku

My dream exhibition that I would love to see would be a curation of historic and contemporary products from designers such as Marc Newson, Alvar Alto and Eero Aarnio.

Kwaku

If I could bring only one outfit in a suitcase it would be a cap, white t-shirt, blue cotton jumper, green cargo trousers, white socks and trainers. This outfit is usually my go to, as I can wear it to design, run away from the studio to attend exhibitions or social events, as well as get my hands dirty durning my design process if necessary.

Kwaku

I don’t have a favourite movies as there are many that I have enjoyed over the years, however I enjoy watching documentaries or influential people within the arts and leaders who have influenced society over history.

Kwaku

If I was stranded on a desert island the record that I would bring is the Miseducation of Lauryn Hill because her conscious energy and positive lyrics would help me through the difficult times. I often play it in the background when working in my studio.

Kwaku

My favourite recipe is sweet potato and butternut squash curry as it is full of flavour and is the perfect balance of sweet, savoury and little bit spicy. As this meal is fully vegetarian I don’t only feel full, but also lean and energised.

Kwaku

As I have spent the last two years under strict travel restrictions due to Covid-19, I will be traveling to Trinidad but also Copenhagen which is one of my favourite European cities. If you have a genuine love for design the Denmark Design museum is a must, as well as the Danish Architecture Centre.

Kwaku