Nick Rennie “Chiku” Interview: Australian International Design Awards 2010
Kate Williamson | June 10, 2010
Nick Rennie of Happy Finish whose design “Chiku” was selected as an Australian International Design Awards 2010 finalist in the category of Architecture and Interior, he spoke to Open Forum’s Kate Williamson.
Congratulations on being selected as a finalist for the awards. How did you first come up with the design?
It was conceived during the time I was living and working in Japan. I was actually in a small bar in Kyoto. I was inspired by a bamboo forest beyond a glass wall. To me it looked liked the bamboo was intersecting the glass. I had a vision of incorporating this into a shelving system.
What do you think caught the judges’ attention?
I think it creates a new typology for shelving systems. A normal shelving system has only vertical and horizontal aspects. The interesting part of this design is the way that the uprights intersect the horizontal parts. This was the first time this type of thing has been done.
One of the other features is how it can be used as a screen to separate a room. Was this part your initial thinking?
I really had a feature piece in mind that blended with the environment. It can be used in quite large places, but at the same time it doesn’t necessarily dominate the space. It can sit in the middle of the room and be viewed from all angles and can be used to frame other pieces.
What has been the reaction in the market place?
It was great to hear that the first sale was actually in Australia. Being manufactured by an Italian company, naturally Europe has seen the most success sales wise.
As it originally had its influence from Asia, I have also received a lot of positive feedback from people I know in Japan. Hong Kong also, where one retailer has used it as a feature piece.
What are some of the things driving market success?
Enabling the product to be flat packed was really important. Shipping and moving costs are reduced significantly.
You were quite involved in the manufacturing process. Was there an area where a strong partnership developed?
So that the product could be flat packed and installed by the owner, I got quite involved in developing the engineering system. Porro and I partnered together to develop a system whereby it is erected vertically, one layer at a time, with a wonderful connection method locking pieces together. With the locking system, once erected, it is extremely strong.
Being selected as a finalised in the 2010 Australian International Design Awards is a great way of receiving recognition. On a personal level what other positive achievements has you had along the way with developing this product?
One of the most positive things to come about in the last few years is my association with Porro. Porro is considered to be one of the top 10 manufacturers on the planet. From my perspective this was a wonderful opportunity to be associated with a group with such great recognition in the industry. It is something that came about from more than a decade of taking regular trips to Europe at my own personal cost. It is great to see this pay off.
SHARE WITH:
