Aria Journal:
Award-winning furniture company &New was founded by British-Finnish design duo, Jo Wilton and Mirka Gröhn. Their designs are characterised by clean lines, geometric shapes and vivid colours, crafted with honest and sustainable materials. Exclusively manufactured in Britain, their distinctly modern aesthetic combines playfulness and simplicity. Discover the full collection here.
We caught up with Jo and Mirka from &New to find out more about their design process and the story behind the brand.
Aria: Who has been an influential figure to you in your creative practice?
&New: There are so many great artists and designers who inspire us, it would be impossible to name just one. I would say each other. &New is really about the two of us collaborating and bringing our different backgrounds, ideas and skills together.
Aria: Which of your collections have you most enjoyed developing and why?
&New: We were commissioned to design and manufacture some large benches for the children’s area in a new experiential retail space. The benches were made out of powder-coated steel and waste from the shoe industry. At present, the footwear waste material cannot be recycled, so we repurposed it into these playful benches.
Now the old discarded trainers have become new bench tops full of character and texture. It’s really exciting to develop new designs, that attempt to find solutions to our current waste problems. As a company we aim to make conscious decisions about the materials we use and where we manufacture, that’s why all our pieces are made in the UK.
Aria: If you were stranded on a desert island and could take one piece of equipment from your studio what would it be?
&New: My camera - there would be so many new things to see!
Explore the entire &New collection here.