When we featured the Furni ALBA clock a couple of months ago, we got some feedback decrying its minimalism and 70s’ roots, yet Furni’s fans are gung-ho about the quality and elegance of their products that come without pretension. We asked Devin Barrette and Mike Giles about the iconography linked to their work.





Your work provokes opposite reactions within different demographic groups. Although the emotional connection to the 70s works in your favour, how can you explain why a younger cohort embraces your designs while an older one is more dismissive?
I think it’s a rather simple explanation; the younger cohort embraces the 70’s design aesthetic because they’ve been lucky enough to have had all the ugly stuff from that decade filtered out for them. Most modern design books, magazines and museum collections focus on what I call the “good” 70’s, you know, the simple curves and minimalist lines. The older demographic had to grow up in all of the 70’s! Bellbottoms, giant collared polyester shirts, disco and worse! They didn’t have the luxury of the “filter” I guess the nostalgia of our designs brings back those repressed memories and with reminders like that, I don’t blame them from shunning us!!!