IN STUDIO WITH...LAURIE WIID VAN HEERDEN

We caught up with the CREATIVE FORCE behind innovative furniture brand WIID DESIGN to find out more about his approach to design, and his studio space.

- KERRYN FISCHER/FRANK FEATURES

WALKING INTO LAURIE WIID VAN HEERDEN'S Cape Town showroom, with its views of Table Mountain, is like stepping into a cabinet of curiosities, where the temptation to touch and feel is as critical as sight. As a self-taught furniture and product designer, Laurie has been reimagining wood, clay, glass, steel, terrazzo and, of course, cork for more than a decade under the auspices of Wiid Design.

*How he learnt his craft Prior to starting Wiid Design, Laurie was an apprentice to various artists and craftsmen, learning skills such as cutting and kiln-drying timber, and manufacturing furniture pieces. Assisting artist Wim Botha, he also worked on large-scale projects that involved steel, fine carpentry, joinery and prepping materials for carving.

"As a designer, you have to understand all materials and software prior to designing any product," he says. "I had to experiment with cork for over 10 years to fully understand its properties. When I initially opened Wiid Design, it was only myself and Sam (my first employee); we physically manufactured everything for more than five years in a small workshop in Woodstock. Since then, I've found that having the knowledge to communicate with engineers, carpenters and suppliers in the correct way is one of the most important factors of being a designer and running a design business. It involves lots of research and trial-anderror, and it takes experience - but it allows you to push boundaries, and perhaps to adapt and modify designs in ways you might not consider if you were only outsourcing, or if you do not have the relevant experience."