Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu, co-founders of the multi-disciplinary design firm Yabu Pushelberg, and Yuichiro Hori, the founder of the furniture label Stellar Works, all know a thing or two about travelling. Being at the helm of their respective international companies, the trio is well versed in the act of being perpetually in motion and making discoveries while on their jaunts around the world.
They’ve worked together to translate this philosophy into physical form – a new accessories and lifestyle label, which they’ve named Departo, that launched online last week. A play on the Japanese expression for ‘department store’, as well as the idea of departing, the direct-to-consumer e-commerce brand is built upon distilling the experience of finding well-made souvenirs and objects in different parts of the world, and bringing them together to form a dynamic collection that works both on its own or in unison.
Armed with the catchphrase ‘essentials for global nomads’, Departo’s inaugural collection includes furniture, ceramics, textiles, glassware and metal. Elegantly utilitarian folding chairs, tables and stools stand alongside low profile coffee mugs, old fashioned cast iron candle holders, frayed edge linen placemats and stylish glasses – all priced affordably, making them perfect for everyday use.
‘When we were young designers struggling to get by, we would save our money up and spend all of it towards something beautiful and interesting,’ Glenn Pushelberg and George Yabu
Subtle in its design statement and uncompromising in quality, the accessible collection represents the label’s expertise and experience in the design industry, while empowering buyers with its openness to interpretation
With Yabu and Pushelberg serving as Departo’s creative directors and the power of Stellar Works behind the manufacturing, plans are already well underway to push the product assortment to beyond what most design labels currently offer. The ethos, however, will remain simple and be rooted in love.
‘When we were young designers struggling to get by, we would save our money up and spend all of it towards something beautiful and interesting,’ Pushelberg and Yabu recall. ‘That feeling – that desire – for an object so beautiful, so timeless, that we would keep it forever, is what we wanted each and every Departo product to embody.’
INFORMATION
www.departo.co
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