YOUNG TALENTS
No limits
Dilara Kan’s uncle is baffled. “Why would you use such old-fashioned chairs for your table?” After all, the impressive green, white, dark red and yellow marble varieties used for the side tables of the “Millstone” collection are regarded as quite ordinary in Turkey. “You can find them everywhere, in apartments and stairwells,” explains Istanbul-born Kan, who designed the tables together with her partner Bodin Hon under the label Yellowdot. “Everyone knows natural stone from Italy” Hon adds. Yet Turkey is one of the biggest exporters of stone world-wide. Dilara Kan’s family was nevertheless instantly taken with one aspect of the “Millstone” tables: Just how easily their tabletops can be flipped over. A light prod will cause the heavy polygonal tops to rotate around themselves seemingly effortlessly. Studio Yellowdot also recently showcased one of the tables at their stand at the Stockholm Furniture Fair. The two designers were part of “The Greenhouse” exhibition for young design, a format that is part of the fair. Alongside the table they also took with them to Sweden luminaires made of a complex, 3D-printed latticework, a room partition made of eggshells, and a bench upholstered in silk.
The “Millstone” collection is exemplary of Kan and Hon’s collaborative work as Studio Yellowdot – the pair combines completely different cultural and professional contexts. Bodin Hon studied Biotechnology in Houston and worked for NASA before switching disciplines with a Master in Product Design in Milan. The tables’ smoothly operating mechanics are typical of Hon’s engineering perspective. “I think in terms of solutions to problems,” as he explains. “I work on the technical aspects and consider how to turn ideas into actual products.” Dilara Kan in turn had completed her Bachelor in Interior Design at the Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul before studying Product Design in Milan. She describes her approach as intuitive and emotional, for example when it comes to selecting colors. After all, it would be impossible to scientifically prove which particular shade of yellow is right for a piece of furniture. When the couple founded their shared studio in 2017, they spoke about their differences and emphasized the contrasts between them, Kan remembers. Nowadays these conflicts are behind them: “We’re tuned in to respective our abilities and know how to combine them.” Hon adds: “I love technology and want to use it. But if we are able to tell a story with our design that really resonates with people – that’s even more interesting.”
Dilara Kan and Bodin Hon met during their Product Design studies in Milan. They then moved to Hong Kong together, where Hon’s family is from – Hon himself having been born in California. They stayed in Hong Kong for three years and worked on the initial Yellowdot projects together there, which included brand consultancy, packaging, and product design for the Chinese eyewear brand Olivia. It was their first big industry job, and they’re still thrilled with how great the trust between them and their clients was. In 2020 they relocated to Istanbul, where they continue to live and work to date. When it came to establishing a design studio, they found Hong Kong didn’t have the prerequisites they were looking for: “It is very expensive. We didn’t have much space. We felt very restricted and were only able to carry out small projects,” says Kan.
In Istanbul they now even have space for a small workshop for their production. They use it to experiment, for example with cast resin. This gave rise not only to the colorful “Jelly” lamps, but also the objects made from eggshells. Bodin Hon particularly appreciates the fact that you can still find many craft workshops in the center of Istanbul. The company supplying the stone for the “Millstone” tables is only 15 minutes by subway from their studio. Yet the designers are contemplating moving again – in Turkey they feel a little cut-off from the Central Europe design scene they encountered in Milan during their studies. But whether in Istanbul or elsewhere: Kan and Hon want to continue working on different topics and projects without limiting themselves. And with their history, anything else would come as a surprise.
Yellowdot @ Milan Design Week 2023
During Milan Design Week 2023, Yellowdot will take part for the first time in Rossana Orlandi Gallery's Rocollectible Design with the new collection 'Millstone' - Rotating Marble Tables.
17. to 23. April 2023
9:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.
RoDISTRICT
Rossana Orlandi Gallery
Via Matteo Bandello, 14/16
20123 Mailand
