The collaboration between Australian furniture brand gohome and designer Ben McCarthy is no flash in the pan. In fact, it goes back many years – all the way to 2006, when Ben first worked with gohome on an award-winning stool shortly after graduating. There is a familiarity to the relationship, though Ben would later follow a decidedly global path working for high-profile designers in London and Hong Kong.

Fittingly enough, given the brand’s name, it was Ben’s homecoming to Sydney that reignited the collaborative relationship. The Utility Collection is the latest fruit, a series of chairs that include the Utility Chair and three stackable stools of differing heights. Featuring 60 per cent recycled aluminium, 3D soft-edge moulded FSC-certified American oak and a plywood as well as black-stained oak and custom upholstery, it’s a collection that centres versatility, durability and functionality.

“The Utility Collection is an iconic design and we are really proud of what we have created,” says Simon Bando, Creative and Managing Director at gohome. “This collection required multiple tools using the latest technology to produce something that looks minimalist, long lasting and beautiful.”

As designer, Ben describes it as “a tool for life” – a striking turn of phrase that speaks not only to the product’s quality but also his own outlook as a multidisciplinary designer. “With this chair, we wanted to make something that lasts – using the right materials for the right job,” he adds.

“It’s robust and sturdy, but it’s still a comfortable, approachable, soft object; it’s highly engineered and it’s also beautifully finished. The product does an honest job and does it well. It’s a classic silhouette with highly refined details, which I think will be well received by the Australian market,” explains Ben.

Stepping back to think more widely again about the collaborative relationship between Ben and gohome, it’s clear that its longstanding and familiar nature is important. It’s not the whole story, however; it’s also a question of values. For Ben, they overlap in crucial ways, especially in terms of design philosophy: “I try to make things quite soft and welcoming, and to not over-complicate the construction – to make things quite understandable, approachable and natural. I think those values overlap with Simon’s vision for the DNA of his brand.”

Ben continues: “Collaboration works best when both parties bring unique visions to the table. I think we both have different assets to bring to a project.” He also draws attention to the commercial focus of the products, which are not only highly functional but subject to Ben’s guiding principle of “trying to find the best way to make the nicest things cost-effective.”

The Utility Collection is designed for use in both commercial and residential sectors, being especially ideal for workplace, hospitality, education, hotel and residential settings. It’s a versatility that evokes not only Ben’s multidisciplinary approach to design (and the multiple needs of the contemporary workplace, for example), but also his ability as a designer to hold seeming opposites in creative tension. “I get inspired by precision engineering solutions, but then I also get really fired up by artworks and machines that don’t make sense,” he says, adding how much fun it is to make things that draw on art, industrial design and more.

Excitingly, it’s all set to come together with a showroom opening on the eve of Saturday Indesign in Sydney. Gohome’s first day of operations at the new showroom will then coincide with Saturday Indesign on 7^th September.

“We are very excited about the opening of our flagship design showroom,” says Simon Bando. “It will be the new HQ for gohome and will showcase our Australian designs in a 300-square-metre space. The showroom will be open to design professionals and to the public.”

Gohome’s Showroom Launch Party will take place on Friday 6^th September (the night before Saturday Indesign) at 171 William St, Darlinghurst 2010 NSW, 5-8pm. Meet the gohome team and designers while experiencing 300 square metres of design space over cocktails, great food and tunes. Strictly invitation-only event – RSVPs to be sent to sales@gohome.com.au by Monday 26^th August.

gohome
gohome.com.au

Ben McCarthy
benmccarthy.com

Next up: Adam Markowitz and the object-makers