MINIM was created in collaboration with some of Australia’s most reputable and awarded designers and craftspeople. Learn more about how MINIM products were brought to life with Vert Design.

Bringing MINIM to life has been a collaboration between designers, makers and craftspeople, united by our shared interest in creating a product that would help reorient spaces to better embrace music. At the core of the design process has been our wonderful industrial design partner Vert Design, who thoughtfully and creatively brought our initial idea of ‘furniture for instruments’ to life.

To learn more about the minds behind the MINIM design and hear about the design process that informed our products, we spoke with Andrew Simpson and James Walsh, founder and industrial designer respectively at Vert. Here, they share more about their approach to design, how they developed a new product category for MINIM and how they hope these pieces will become a beloved part of any space.

Tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be at Vert?

Andrew Simpson: I was a natural industrial designer at high school; I excelled at woodwork, design and technology and Engineering science but more importantly, I had a love of making. I would (and still do) spend my time after school making boats, surfboards, skateboards and at lunchtime I would get the teachers to let me use the woodwork studios to make boxes and chairs.

I founded Vert early on in my career, while I was studying at university. Before university I was a glass blower and got my start working in glass polishing and production, then went into producing the hot glass and finally designing the glass itself.

This was a fantastic foundation in design because glass blowing is so immediate from concept to product, there's a very direct correlation between design and production. Glass as a material is transparent and reactive, so it takes a lot of control to manage the form and design craft to make it work successfully. Working in this space was a great way to get to know one material very well, and the process and approach then shaped how I approached working with other materials.

After studying and spending five years in glass blowing I began to take on more freelance clients and experiment with more materials, eventually picking up our first client as Vert thanks to my skills in electrical moulding. The work has just grown from there!

Vert is a very experimental practice; we don't have a fixed process and there's a strong design approach underpinned by a range of experimentations, from scientific methods to different commercial models.

James Walsh: I am a Sydney Based Industrial Designer with a Melbourne based background. I studied Industrial Design at RMIT while working for a handful of furniture and lighting design companies at the same time. After graduating, I had the opportunity to exhibit my grad project in Milan during the Salone del Mobile satellite, with the Melbourne Movement. Off the back of Milan, I was also lucky enough to win a number of awards for this same grad project.

In 2018, I wanted to explore my options outside of Melbourne, and had known about Vert Design as having a strong ethos towards experimentation and innovation, which is what brought me here today. I have now been working with Vert for the last two years, while also designing and creating a number of independent projects on the side.

What do you love about working in design and what have been some of your most memorable career experiences so far?

JW: I really enjoy the problem-solving aspect of design as well as the opportunity to create original and meaningful work. Creating a physical embodiment of a collaborative idea is also incredibly rewarding.

Some of our most recognisable and awarded work includes the Huskee Cup, O Six Hundred, Good Citizens Glasses and Zero Co.

Vert is described as "a testing ground for new concepts and self-initiated experimentation"—can you tell us about how this philosophy informs your design approach and the projects you choose to work on?

JW: At the Vert Design studio there is always a large push towards experimentation and prototyping. With in-house 3D printing, injection moulders and a range of other tools, our team can test the practical and technical opportunities within a material or design.

This upfront approach to designing and making has led to innovations and technological advancements—such as the sustainable reuse of materials—which informs our product design output.

What initially inspired the initial design for MINIM's stands/hanger and how did it evolve?

JW: The brief from (MINIM founder) Craig was clear from the start: he was looking to develop a guitar stand that could work harmoniously within a beautiful contemporary interior.

We began by broadly working through ideas together that reflected materials and process found within and around the home. Anything from timber work on classic furniture, leather and sewing details on bags or wallets, to more abstract sculptures carved from stone were forms of inspiration.

Over time, this inspiration was adapted through the local materials and fabricators that could be utilised for the end products.

The MINIM stands are intended to be more than a utilitarian object; they're a new type of design furniture. How do the final designs reflect this desire and how did you achieve that through the design process?

JW: For this project it was all about finding a balance between form and function. While understanding Craig’s vision of a furniture-inspired guitar stand, we also needed to consider the functional drivers, like how the guitar is held in place and how the guitar is protected. Once we understood each requirement, our approach can be described as a pendulum swinging back and forth between convergent and divergent thinking—this is something we find to be very important during our initial concept phase of a project.

Was your design process for the MINIM stands different because of the new product category type or do you have a consistent design approach?

JW: Although every project is unique, at Vert Design we do have a simple approach that we try to apply to each project.

It starts off by casting a wide net, exploring a range of ideas and considering different available options, moving back and forth between human factors and technical requirements in a pendulum motion.

This method allows us to determine the best direction, then focus more closely on the details of the selected concept as we move through a project, eventually producing a final design that is optimised for production while responding to the needs of the end user.

By structuring this process in stages, we ensure the final result is developed collaboratively with the client while also hitting both the human and technical requirements.

What considerations did you have to ensure the stands preserved the guitar in the best possible way?

JW: In considering how each guitar would be held and protected we looked at materiality and making sure there was always soft materials in contact with the guitar.

We also wanted to look at how the inclusion of gesturing could influence the perception of safety. For example, with the leather sling stand, we wanted to have the guitar cradle into the soft leather base, which creates the impression of safety and protection.

How did you balance the beauty of the stand's design and materials with the functional need to highlight the guitar and not overpower it through the design?

JW: For this product range we always knew the guitar needed to be the hero and not the stand, although it was a close competition when we saw the sandstone stand in the flesh!

A lot of the balance between the design and the guitar itself comes through from the gesturing of the designs. All the products look to position the guitar first and foremost, and raise them off the ground to demonstrate what is most important and what is protected.

What were some of your design influences on the MINIM products?

JW: At the beginning of this project our influences included a wide range of furniture and object designers both old and new. The Paulistano Armchair (1957) was a large influence for the Sling stand, while Max Lamb and his Hawkesbury Sandstone project was an influence for the Podium stand.

How did you work with MINIM's founder and the various local suppliers and craftspeople in the design process?

JW: The entire project was very collaborative. Craig was always very proactive in developing the designs along with us, and each craftsman that we worked with had a great influence on the products; Kris Cadogan from Ministry of Stone demonstrated great knowledge and skill when choosing and hand shaping the sandstone stand and Judit Varga from Birdsall Leather was one of few leather workers willing to experiment and be able to deliver on a variety of leather pieces we had requested for the stone and the wire hanger design.

How did you source and decide on the materials for each design?

JW: Again, this process was very collaborative with Craig. From the beginning of the project Craig’s priority was that the materials and the manufacturing be locally sourced while also being sustainable, long-lasting and of course timeless.

There was an emphasis on using Australian manufacturers for MINIM's stands. Can you tell us a bit about your experience working with local manufacturers?

JW: The challenges we faced with Australian manufacturing is the willingness to explore unknowns. It is fairly common that factories will be set up for large scale production of a single design, and be very reluctant to put their energy into samples and prototypes. Australia has historically been underrepresented in manufacturing because we haven’t focused on quality and egalitarianism.

AS: The way Craig approached it is the best Australia can do, balancing a focus on quality with an approachable way of building relationships and negotiating with local manufacturers. Over the course of this project we managed to find a good variety of manufacturers and craftspeople who were excited to take on the challenge and deliver great results in great time.

Sustainability plays an important role in MINIM's products. Can you share how you integrated a sustainable approach throughout the material sourcing and manufacturing of the designs?

JW: The material choices really began with Craig’s determination to find some of Australia and New Zealand's most ethically and environmentally produced leathers. He's been inspirational in this regard and a pleasure to work with from a sustainability standpoint.

From there we really tried to keep a consistency moving forward with the product range, using materials that are both high quality and long-lasting from local suppliers.

Further to this, how do the final pieces reflect the brand's core emphasis on sustainability?

JW: Each MINIM piece demonstrates the brand's beliefs through the materials that are used, the locally sourced production and the timeless aesthetic of each object. This, I feel are the core values of MINIM.

How do you hope people will use and engage with the stands? Any homes or spaces you'd love to see them show up in?

AS: The category that MINIM is playing in is part of a broader social trend; that we want to care for the things we love. In Victorian England, the poor lived in sparse and empty spaces and the wealthy had ornate, cluttered areas—but in the modern context, this has reversed and minimalism is a form of showing wealth. This combined with a growing focus on sustainability, of owning less but better and really considering what you choose to put in your spaces makes MINIM a perfect inclusion for any design-conscious resident.

I can see the stone stand in the living space of an LA home perched in the hills looking over the city, or the horizontal lines and framing of the sling stand at home in a minimal, modern apartment.

Ultimately, as each design differs in expression I would hope to see them in all kinds of spaces, adding framing and context to each person’s individual instruments and elevating them in each space.

What would you love to see MINIM do next?

AS: I play the saxophone, it's a silver, late 1920s saxophone and while I love playing it I often feel there’s that visual and functional barrier to taking it out. I’d love a MINIM saxophone version to overcome this barrier and to add a beautiful piece of design to my home.

Learn more about Vert Design here →

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