Rising Stars Tandem Design House

For the creative duo behind Tandem Design House, design is a balance between BOLD experimentation and THOUGHTFUL sustainability.

- DUMISANI MNISI

CREATED BY INDUSTRIAL DESIGNERS PIA FINDLAY AND JOSH MCNALLY, Tandem Design House is a collaboration that opens a fresh dialogue around materiality and its influence on space.m Their latest collection, Phlat, is an intergalactic-inspired range of tables, shelves and lamps crafted from recycled plastic, designed to be modern and well-made, and enduring as heirlooms.

The collection stems from extensive conversations about and research into plastic, and its potential for ethical repurposing. The retro-futuristic aesthetic, evident in both form and colour, asks a provocative question: what does the future of furniture look like in a world that's drowning in plastic?

From their light-filled studio in Victoria Yards, Johannesburg, the pair shares how they keep ideas flowing.

Pushing each other is the foundation of our relationship.

Josh: As a designer, you have to practise letting go of ideas that you think are amazing if they don't work.

Pia: Josh brings his technical and manufacturing knowledge to the table, and turns wild ideas into actual tangible objects. I tend to challenge the idea of the square box and come up with things that push boundaries.