Jun / 25 / 2007 ¬

Smart Ménage à Trois -
Three Young Designers Pooled Together And Are Doing Their Thing Now

Truman Brewery, East London, September 2006: PureAustrianDesign is exhibiting on London´s “100% East” show, introducing fresh contemporary design from Austria. Many of the exhibitors are attending the show. Jakob Illera, Valentin Vodev und Marlene Liska, all three graduates of the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, also travelled to London to promote their designs which attracted a lot of attention in the past.

Encouraged by the support they gained in London, they returned back to Vienna with the decision to collaborate, benefiting from their different backgrounds and taking the opportunity to bundle know-how.

Half a year later, they not only found a name, they have already designed a small collection of office furniture. The prototypes were presented at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF) in New York this May. The trio´s studio is based in Vienna, in a building originally constructed for craftsmen in the period of the monarchy, more than 100 years ago. Today these buildings shelter designers, architects and many other service providers. For sure a good place for ”CIO – CREATIVEINDUSTRIALOBJECTS”.



How did you get to design?
As kids we striped our toys into pieces, putting them together again, creating something new, something which was more similar to what we wanted.



What do you like about design? What inspires you?
Life is design. One can find inspiration everywhere.

What is design?
Since every object is designed, the question should be „What is good design?“.
It’s about quality, functionality, ecology, intelligent solutions, elegance, the reflection of habits, society, tradition....
Certainly it’s also about humour. We really appreciate it when an object makes us smile.

You are working as independent designers. When did you have the idea to form “CIO“?
We had the idea to start a project together after the PureAustrianDesign - Landing in London last September, where all three of us were participating.

What is the philosophy of CIO?
“CREATIVEINDUSTRIALOBJECTS“ combines the honest rapport to material and the foresight of changing living conditions that brings to life cutting-edge products.
We have chosen Bulgaria as our headquarter for the production – a place, where the high artistic mastery, stylistic features and skilled workmanship of Thracian times is still part of the craftsmen’s proud tradition. Rediscovered for their detail-oriented handcraft, we as “CREATIVEINDUSTRIALOBJECTS“ have joined them in the work process that emanates as a sketch, a 3D computer model and, lastly, a physical model from the Vienna based studio. Through intensive collaboration with producers, material researchers and retailers, “CREATIVEINDUSTRIALOBJECTS“ has brought high-quality products to the international scene.



What differentiates the individual performances in comparison to the projects of “CIO“?
Different approaches lead to different solutions. We benefit from the various skills and abilities each of us has.

How do you share the tasks?
In the design process every single one of us was in charge of one project. The frequent exchange between us was very productive and led to quick and good solutions.

What is the goal of the project “CIO“?
Together we experiment unrestrictedly and we also set up production of our products.

Current projects?
We will debut as CIO at New York´s ICFF in the scope of the “PureAustrianDesign-Landing“ this May.
Our first project is a small furniture collection which consists of a trolley table – “CI cart”, a mobile desk “CI desk” and a mix of a coatrack and a valet, the “CI rack”.

Past projects?
Valentin with “Pixstudio“ has won a prize recently for “Roller Buggy“ in Taipei and will be going into production hopefully soon. Jacob with his partner Alexandra in the context of their company, “Inseq Design“, made acclaimed products, such as “Zuse“,“Hurly Burly“ and “Offset“.
Marlene with her “SAC À FAIRE“ is now going into production.



What is your opinion of Austrian design?
We can only talk about Vienna since this city is our life and work focus. Vienna is a capital which allows an exciting, cultural exchange.

How do you see Austrian and the international market?
The international market cannot be separated from the Austrian market. Our aim is to operate on an international level, therefore we are looking for distributors all over the globe.

What do you consider as the “hot spot“ at the moment?
“Hot spots“ can be found scattered everywhere around the world.