As the saying goes “A writer writes the book, they are craving to read”
In a similar way, Klaro Industrial Design, or K.I.D. in short, was born out of a longing for a commercially focused supplier, that could evolve and respond, while staying true to its core cause and its clients.
A search for products, that respond to changing criteria in the workplace, without forgoing aesthetics. A search for a local manufacturing network, that is ready to try, fail, innovate, and win, and is eager to go along on that journey.
“We are looking to bring a "Slow fashion" philosophy and apply it to commercial interior products, to reduce landfill and support local manufacturing. By spending the time to develop and nurture relationships with our makers, we can respond quickly to clients and fulfill briefs, knowing that we have done the homework for them.”
With a concise product range that spans, seating storage and workstations, Klaro has drawn on its own experience across the fields of architectural design and commercial fit-out. This is underpinned by the studio’s collective manufacturing expertise and the best corporate practices of its partners of more than 2 decades.
“Our team feels it’s our duty to clients to ensure we consider manufacturing origin and materials, an item’s life span, its impact on the user, and its final frontier. Whether it’s a one-off custom item or a product from our core range.”
One of K.I.D.’s core values is understanding that the term ‘design intent’ applies to the process, as much as the visual language and result.
About our new space
K.I.D would not have passed an opportunity to set up its new HQ in Sydney’s Inner West, a vibrant community and microcosmos of eclecticism that nurtures creativity while keeping ‘The bigger picture’ of it all in check.
Our new space had to work hard to become a workplace, a space to feature Klaro furniture and act as a go-to facility for our customers. A space where they can invite their clients to view options and get sign-offs, as we know this ultimately builds a wider community within our marketplace and informs smarter choices for all stakeholders.
To achieve this, we had to consider a few key messages, that our new space was to reciprocate to our lovely specifiers and clients about our brand and products.
Firstly, in our opinion, workstations are best viewed when in use, complete with coffee cups, calculators, and all! This provides a great indication of a product’s performance in practice, much more than a polished showroom display that may fail to deliver, once a user unleashes all their gadgets, trinkets, and family photos onto their new work desk. As such, all our furniture showcased on the floor is well-used and continues to inform our design decisions. Maybe that’s what ‘human-centered design’ stands for.
And so, it has become K.I.D Studio, rather than a showroom, a space where one is likely to find prototypes mingling with half-cooked designs.
As we take the quality of work part of the life of an office occupier very seriously when designing every piece, we arrive at the second most important message we wanted to translate through our design choices for the space. The natural environment is an awesome and free occupational therapist. Natural light and air can heal fatigued brains and plants (live ones, please) can cure stress. K.I.D studio fills with daylight and our little courtyard offers a lovely respite to a hectic workflow.
A variety of plants take center stage at every opportunity, be it even at the expense of a clear view of a piece of furniture or a walkway.
Honest and readily available materials were used throughout, to make a case for sustainability as the third message to be delivered via our new space. At times, what is available at hand, can be the most environmental choice. Materials that do not pretend to be something they are not, are using less composites and more of that lovely biodegradable or recyclable gear we often look past on the average commercial project.
We believe fit-out decisions, informed by the above points have shaped Klaro Studio to become an extroverted place to welcome, listen, impart information, and collaborate with our tribe.
If you are anything like us, you will find people behind the brand just as interesting, as inevitably - the team's quirks and beliefs translate into what is seen as a piece of furniture (be it visually, structurally, or procedurally).
A sculptor, interior architect, and product designer. Alona draws on her range of unique skills and outlook to create products that foresee a requirement, that is not currently being met, where design intent captures not only the object's visual language, but the process and locality of manufacture, materials, supply chain, user experience, and end of life.
A strong desire and dedication to collaborating with local makers, creatives, and manufacturers has led the K.I.D brand to explore concepts of shopping small for big impact, circular economy, and dual origin to positively affect the commercial furniture industry.
Alona
"Our future relies on sustainable products, good design, and local manufacture where possible. The future is bright" in Stephen's words
Stephen, who has over 30 years' of experience in the commercial furniture industry, has seen many commercial office fit-out trends come & go, as our work lives adapt to technology, manufacturing processes & the environment. The natural world and its preservation have grown hugely in importance to him throughout his career.
In 1993 Steve purchased 40 hectares of farmland in New Zealand and worked to restore the land by planting a pine forest, which acted as a canopy and nursery for the native bush to return and flourish. He saw firsthand the benefits of protecting and nurturing our environment and biodiversity. Today Stephen leads K.I.D to make more sustainable choices.
illustrations @artbymon
